Dying Wish
by HaruhismFollower
Summary: An incident in Tatsumi's early life makes him change his way of thinking forever. Without knowledge of the Revolutionary Army, he decides to make his own rebellion to make his perfect world. To do that, he plans to enter the Imperial army and ascend until he becomes a general. However, he soon realizes that you need more than yourself to kill the beast from the inside.
1. Kill the Innocence

**Before reading this story, be aware that there may be grammatical errors. So if you find some, please point them out.**

**Secondly, Tasumi's point of view will look a bit radical, not yet, but I hope with the background I'll give in this and next chapters you understand it a bit. **

**And before anything... Tatsumi isn't going the Seryu route.**

* * *

A young boy accompanied his father in a horse. It was the first time he had left the village, and was eager to see a city. His mother didn't want him to leave for some reason, but after days of whining, she accepted.

He didn't understand why she was so obsessed with the idea of never leaving the village. Maybe it was because the city was big? But it wasn't as big as the capital! Or so his father told him...

"The city looks very big, right Tatsumi?" His father started to talk.

He looked at the thick walls that covered the whole town. The city's name was something like... Jalkala. It was at the north of the Empire, being the last big city before passing through some castles, and finally the capital. It was also the closest city to his village.

"There are so many people...!" All of his senses were overwhelmed. The scents, the buildings, the sounds...

His father needed to buy something that could only be found in the city. Tatsumi didn't know what was so important to come all the way here, but he didn't mind. He was happy to see new things.

At some point, they left the horse at the side of a strange looking building. The top of it was burned, but the bottom was perfectly clean. Was this a city thing...?

"Stick close to me. God knows what your mother will do if I lost you." Tatsumi nodded without complains. If he could get lost in the forest near his village, imagine in a city...

As they entered the shop, his father went to talk to the owner. However, the boy started to look at the strange objects that hanged around the ceiling. He looked at some strange cat ears, that looked far from normal. It was like they were trying to influence him...

Trying to shake off the weird feeling, he turned around and looked at the pictures in the wall. There were maps, and pictures of odd weapons. Was that a bird...?

"Hey kid! Don't touch ANYTHING!" He jumped at the sound of the owner's voice. It seemed like his father was done with whatever he did. Too fast...

"Damn it... I guess we'll have to sleep here for today." His father muttered.

"Whaaat! You said that the city gets more lively at night!" He said innocently.

"Y-Yes... Maybe in some years you'll understand what I meant." As he helped a confused Tatsumi to get on the horse, he hid a small bag in his pockets.

They started to leave the market area to find an inn.

As Tatsumi calmed down, he started to get less interested in the buildings, and more in the people. They didn't seem very happy. His glare stopped by a bunch of people begging for money.

"Are those people poor, dad?" Tatsumi said, without averting his eyes.

"Yes." It seemed like his father didn't want to respond.

"Very poor?"

"Very."

"The poorest in the city?"

"Who knows? But there are worse things than poverty. They are unfortunate for something else." His father answered with apathy.

"Why?" Tatsumi insisted.

"I don't know. Those were old, so I guess their sons are in prison." They had already passed them, but Tatsumi couldn't keep quiet. His mind still remembered their expressions.

"Have they killed somebody?" Something had ticked him off. Something was starting to build inside of him.

"Perhaps, but I wouldn't doubt it." He had only heard his father talk in that tone with his mother.

"Then I guess he isn't in prison. If he was a bad person, his parents would have money. He would be stealing." His father didn't respond.

They continued walking on the horse until they reached an Inn. At that moment, Tatsumi talked again.

"Why does nobody help them?"

"What does it matter, Tatsumi? If they die, rich or poor, they will be always be alone even if somebody helps them. Life is like that." Tatsumi remembered how they weren't saying anything. The people around them didn't say anything. He didn't say anything. "What can you do?"

That was the phrase that set off everything. Like the first gear that started moving, an ideal started to build up inside his head. At first, he just thought "Why does nobody help them?" As he started to think more in the very same night, he answered that question."Because they're poor."

But then, why were they poor? People didn't just lose their money with no apparent reason. Then... Who made them like that? His father told him "Taxes. The government is rising them like they are clouds."

Those people up there just thought about getting more money, no matter what? Why? Why do those people get richer, and the normal people get only poorer? Could he achieve justice... in some way?

* * *

"Hey boy! It's your turn." I heard the man in the desk groan before me. I should stop remembering the past...

I 'm not used to seeing so many people together, and it's kind of stressing. My father always told me the amount of people that lived in the capital, but seeing first handed was overwhelming. Even if I wanted to be here, the injustice I have seen in the streets wants me to leave.

Really, they're not really trying to hide it.

"Ah, yes! Sorry..." I grabbed the sheet of paper he offered me.

It was the inscription to enter the Imperial Army. If you were a noble, or had enough money, you could start right away as a captain, or even as a cataphract. But somebody like me had to start as a skutatoi... a foot soldier and I'm not really aiming for this one.

"Isn't there a cheap way to start in a more... important position?" This question is probably pretty dumb but..."I can give you some money if you tell me." Master always said that the money could be used for other ways. For some reason, he laughed when he said that.

"...How much?" He seemed reluctant at first, but quickly asked me the price.

Ah! Corrupted deskman!

"How about..." I grabbed some of the coins I had earned slaying beasts. Apparently killing danger beasts isn't enough to be famous, but if I'm born in some rich family I'm the best in the world. I hate these rules for entering the army.

I seem very hateful today for some reason. I bet it's the air.

"Well, there are certainly some ways..." He said as he looked at the gold coins."If you are suicidal enough, you can go after Night Raid. But seeing you as you are, you can start as the bodyguard of some wealthy family, or even challenging somebody in the army."

I don't know what Night Raid is, but I don't like the word suicidal. But the other options...

"To challenge a captain, do I need to be in the Army?" My voice was loud enough to grab the attention of the people around me. Why are they looking at me like that...?

"You are really crazy... But yes. You can beat them up, but without being in the army you would just end up crucified." He's joking, right?

"And if I'm a bodyguard... I'm in the army?" I've been living in a village in the middle of nothing my whole live. I don't know this things!

"I don't know! Now, are you signing in? Because the line behind you won't disappear like nothing!" People in the capital are so mean...

As I left the barracks, I started to gather up my thoughts.

My village is being drown in taxes. It would be normal for the bad times the Empire is having, but we have every tax augmented a 50%. Why?

Pretty easy. I tried to attack a general... or somebody important of the army. I was like... 12 years old and I can't remember much. I just know that I was with a girl and I protected her.

As you can guess... I didn't win. But in order to save me, my village made that deal.

But I'm not in the capital to get money. I will get an important charge of the army, and with that power... I'll overthrow this government. A world where only a few privileged live without worry, it's not a world. It's literally hell on Earth for simple people like myself.

I don't know if I'm the only one that thinks like this, but I know that with time and my ideas spread... People will join me.

"Hey there boy! They didn't want you in the army, huh?" A girl with blond hair an- Boobs! I mean... her breasts are... big. Is this a lady of the night or whatever they call them?

"Uh... Here, with this you can find a suitable job." More coins disappeared from my bag to another person's hands. At least I helped the lady!

"W-Wait, I'm not a-"

I can't hear anything! Whatever she does with that it's not my problem.

...

Maybe I should go back and help her to find that job and th- She's gone. Well, maybe she did hear my pledge.

* * *

After walking around for a bit, I realized that I was walking in circles. I don't know the layout of this city, and even worse, I don't know if there are any Inns around here. If I can't find shelter soon enough, I'll have to sleep in the streets.

Well, if I'm lucky, maybe somebody generous enough might help me. Obviously they won't be some wealthy family. I haven't seen somebody noble and generous towards commoners... They only care about themselves and justice should act upon them.

And I don't mean killing them. I'm not that extreme, I think. Unless they've done a very bad thing. Even then, I feel uncomfortable thinking that. I've killed plenty of monsters, but they don't have a rational mind. Although in that forest with pinky I-

"Tell us girl! Where is your father?!" My thoughts were cut as I saw two persons surrounding a little girl in an alleyway.

"I... I don't know!" The girl definitely looked in trouble. Tears were pouring to her face and it seemed that those men weren't going to stop.

I can do this... They don't even have a name to begin with.

"If you need to talk to someone, I'm right here." The two large men turned to me. They meant business. I would have lied if I said I wasn't a bit intimidated, but as long as I have my sword, some thugs won't beat me.

"And who the fuck are you?" They seemed a bit shocked as I appeared.

"Just a wannabe hero, huh? Looks like we'll have to teach you some respect!" They laughed as they approached me.

I left my bag in the ground to get more speed. Just in case.

"Eat this!" The man who looked like the boss tried to punch me. Too slow.

The man looked shocked as I dodged easily to the left. Using his momentum to my advantage , I threw my knee upwards, hitting him right below the ribs. I'm not a hand to hand combat expert, but these guys only have strength, nothing more.

Before he recovered, I elbowed his neck, making him fall to the ground.

"Well, that happened. Who's next?" His comrade was already gone when I looked. Doesn't he have any respect or honor? "Someone has to give him a sentence..."

"T-Thank you sir!" The girl was still a bit impacted, but she smiled from the bottom of her heart.

"It was nothing. After all, this is what the moon kn-, well what anyone would do!" Nothing feels better than a little bit of justice in the air. "But, what did they want from you?" The girl looked at the ground sadly.

More like _stared. _It didn't look like she was actually watching something

"I don't know... Dad went to find mom but he hasn't returned..." That's weird. Who would leave her daughter alone? Something bad has happened.

"Do you know where he went? Maybe I can find him." Even if it's already dusk, I can do it tomorrow. After all, I can always act a bit heroic sometimes.

"Well... somewhere. It was in one of those big houses that are in the forest..." That is a bit vague, but it's enough. If her father has gone into trouble, maybe I should go stealthy.

"That's more than enough." I crouched down to the girl's level. It's less intimidating to talk to someone of your height... but I don't think that matters. Her eyes don't have any shine on them.

Is she blind?

"Now, maybe somebody of the night watch can stay with you. I don't know if I can stay awake today..." I don't want to leave her with some creepy dude, but I also can't assure her safety.

"Ah... I'll follow you." Heh... I'm doing good things already. Helping a poor girl, took down this thug and I'll find her father. This won't get me renown, but the revolutionary meter will start to fill up!

"My name is Tatsumi. What's your name?" I should introduce myself. It doesn't sound very epic, but it gets better I swear!

"Nea..."

Walking hand in hand, I completely forgot about the man that tried to hurt her, but I couldn't bring him alone. Nowadays, he'll be in prison in no time if keeps like that.

When I find a guard or someone, I'll ask them about missing persons... I need to find those two! We all went in separate ways and maybe something bad happened to them. I hope Sayo was able to stay with Ieyasu. Because... that boy will end up back in the village with his sense of direction!

But they will be fine. I'm sure they are already in the capital, and I just didn't see them. That would be a problem considering all the people in the capital! Ah crap! We should have thought this through... But in the meantime, a guard!

"Excuse me... Do you know where this girl can stay for the night? Some thugs came over and she got separated from her dad." What a strange dog she has... I don't think dogs can walk like that.

And I didn't know girls could have a ponytale so large.

"Yes! I knew my justice detector didn't fail when I saw you! Where did this happen?" Isn't that nice to hear? Another fellow justice follower li- That wasn't what I asked.

"No no, I... took care of them already. But she doesn't know where her home is." The girl's eyes shined brightly, like she had heard where the candies were hidden.

"Good job serving justice! Then I'll do my part. I'm sure Koro will be happy to play with her!" She is too enthusiastic... But nevertheless, she seems to have learn by heart that justice must be done!

"That's nice to hear! I'll come tomorrow with your father!" Nea walked slowly towards her. Does she use sounds or something to know where everyone is?

"Justice seeker, we'll be here at the afternoon again!" The girl waved her hand while giving me a strange nickname.

Justice seeker?

"A-Alright. Then, I'll be here tomorrow." She seems like a good girl. I'm sure she'll keep that promise.

"Nea, don't worry about your dad. I'll get him back, I'm sure."

After I no longer saw their shadows, I sat down in the corner of a street. I did a very stupid thing! Why didn't I go with them?! Now I have to sleep in the streets. Whatever...

Sayo... We will meet again, right?

* * *

It seems that the capital doesn't appreciate wanderers. Or just homeless people in general. It was already hard to sleep, and when I had barely slept 4 hours, some guards tried to capture me for being on the street. In my defense, I did try to reason with them. I mean, I do have my favorite white coat and I don't look very suspicious. When I realized that it wasn't working I kind of... run away.

At least I met that girl and puppy. She didn't look so bad, and she didn't even question me about that incident. I guess there's always light in the darkness. Then again, I don't really know her, so I won't make more assumptions.

"I don't even know where I am." Stupid capital. I've lost half day running around, and a quarter trying to find something to eat. Why don't you have maps? Maybe there is one in the walls somewhere.

And as I thought, there were some posters in the walls. Although it wasn't a map.

"Akame... from... Night Raid." What a weird typography. I can't almost read with these strange words. How were they able to make such a good picture of her? She's an assassin of some sorts... Isn't the point of an assassin to not be seen? Wait, those are ninjas. Never mind.

I could always go out and try to find her but I don't want to die so easily. Sorry red eyes but we hopefully will never meet.

What is Night Raid anyways? The posters just say that they oppose the Empire, so they are technically good...? Maybe they are like me, and they want to set things right. But I don't know what kind of right they are looking for. What if they want just personal gain? Or they just are a bunch of opposing families and want to be the next emperor or something.

Wait, if the emperor is the source of the corruption, then that means that I'll be able to put whatever government I have if I dispose of him. Tatsumi the Emperor sounds very bad... I don't want to rule, but I want to make sure that there isn't any corruption.

"Agh! Without Sayo or Ieyasu, I think of very weird stuff. I'm lonely..."

At least I'm already out of the capital. I should really stop talking with myself of my plans... Plans that don't exist actually. Huh... I should start thinking in some jokes.

Walking through the woods, I saw that I was actually much closer to the capital than I expected. Literally five meters. And just to my right I find a sign which is telling me to not enter private property. If they don't apply the law, why should I?

"Oh yeah... I can actually die if I don't follow the rules. Bah, I'll just go sneaky sneaky lemon squeezy!" I haven't done anything stealthy in years, but I'll just have a look.

Covering my head with my coat's hood, I made my way into the owned land.

* * *

Tree. Tree. Tree. Bush. Flower. Why is this private property exactly? It's like everything else. At least there aren't any Earth Dragons. Which for some reason look like beetles. Why did they...

Hold on! A clearing with a nice little warehouse. And that to the left is a dirt road. I'll follow the road and-

"-hy do we have to clean the entrance? It will just get dirty again." I quickly hid behind a tree. Two persons, probably soldiers, left the warehouse with two spears... mops? They are drenched in some red liquid... It couldn't be...?

"You know how the missy gets when her shoes get even a taint of blood." Perhaps it's a slaughterhouse? But why would soldiers be cleaning it?

"Yeah... Let's go back before the sun sets. It gets very creepy when you know what's in th-" The voices of the soldiers disappeared along with their easy-going attitude.

There can't be people there, right? I mean, I wouldn't be happy cleaning blood and surrounded by corpses! That's just... messed up!

Feeling a bit stressed, I unsheathed my sword from my back, leaving behind my bag with all my belongings.

The sword just brings me security, and with all that strange talk, I just have a strange feeling running up my spine. But what if I'm right? People like that can't exist. How could you do such things to other humans?

The door of the warehouse was locked. I could turn back at any second and forget about this. But then... I wouldn't forgive myself if people are really dying because of my stubbornness.

Using the sword as a crowbar, I started to put pressure into it.

_CLANK!_

The wood that covered the handle broke, and a mixture of smells started to come out the warehouse. I should have never opened that door.

I felt like vomiting suddenly.

The stomach acid irritated the back of my throat. I grabbed my throat with my hands, and after an incredible suffering, the urge to vomit stopped.

What I saw was pain. In all sorts of forms. The death, the sadness, the rage... It was all condensed here, and it entered my mind suddenly.

"T-Tatsumi? It's... It's that you!? Tatsumi?!"

I felt all the blood from my face disappearing.

My mouth was getting dry.

I fell to my knees. I couldn't breathe out after I took a deep breath.

I could feel my cold sweat soaking my clothes.

I-Ieyasu?!

I swallowed the little saliva I had left. "W-Why..? Ieyasu?! How...?!"

"T-They looked like good people! B-But after drinking water they offered me, I ended up here! I'm... glad to see you..." He was covered in black stains, like the black plague.

Why is this happening?! Why?!

Almost without noticing it, I had already broken the door that separated me from him. He looked very weak. He had been here for a long time... He had arrived before me.

"Don't worry! I'll bring you to a doctor and... And...!" Even at this state, he smiled.

"Sorry... I won't make it. That blond bitch... I endured everything she did! I... knew you would come..." This isn't...!

"Looks like I'm the first down... But remember..." He coughed some blood. I still remember that childish pact we made as kids.

"Your soul will keep for me, right?" I felt the tears covering my face. I'll save one hit for you... best friend.

"Yeah... Create the perfect world..." With those last words, he closed his eyes for the last time.

* * *

After some minutes walking through the forest, I reached the mansion. The sun had set already, and it was the perfect time to enter.

Avoiding the obvious way to enter, I looked at the windows that looked easily breakable. I had only one goal now. Sorry Nea, but I have something to deal with.

With a running start, I quickly made my way into the first floor.

The guards know what happens in this house. Yet they just keep silent. I won't be responsible of my acts with my current state.

The house was silent. I heard some footsteps in the upper floor, quickly followed by some voices in front of me. I was confident that my face couldn't be seen by the white hood I had, and I wouldn't have any problem.

"-ut she still sucking! Hahaha!" Those guards were patrolling, just eight meters in front of me, but the smell of alcohol could be smell even from here.

"I always hate when they d- Hey! Intrud-"

Before the man could finish the sentence, I quickly thrust my sword like a lightning bolt. My sword had already broken her spinal cord, as well as all his organs. I now know why my master said to only use this techniques in extreme situations.

"Monster!" The man unsheathed his sword and immediately slashed horizontally. I had already saw this years ago...

I ducked, his sword merely missing my head by inches. In less than a second my sword was already heading to his neck. The only thing I saw in his face was regret. Blood tainted my white coat and face.

I'm using the techniques that my master forbid me to use. The sword flash, and the decapitation... There is only one more.

I felt my grip on the sword shivering. I couldn't move as the man's blood touched me and covered my clothes and face. Damn it...

Trying to forget it, I started to check quickly every room and ran upstairs.

I headed towards the only room in the second floor that had light, and broke the door down with a kick.

It was empty.

"I know you are here." I started to talk. That was a good start, keep going."Why did you torture Ieyasu?! He had a good heart! But you didn't care, did you?" I opened the wardrobe, but it only had dresses and shoes. Nobody was here.

"You have power and money, huh? You think you're at the top of the food chain? I can do anything in the world and nobody can yell me back. That's what you think?" I looked below the bed, but nobody was there.

"Maybe she really isn't here... Well, now I know what to say when I find her." I'll avenge you, Ieyasu. Don't worry.

Before leaving the room, I looked through the window. The sun had really disappeared, and the moon was full. How strange... are there really only two guards here or did I judge wrong?

That can't be it. Nobody can lie when they are dying. And even though Ieayasu jokes... joked a lot, when we die, we are only humans... Well, at least I grow up with that idea. It's more like a concept than an idea but... She's running away?!

I spotted two people fleeing from the house. A girl and a guard. Even without the sunlight, I could see they were distressed. Did they find out I'm here?

Trying to calm myself, I left the room and started to climb down the stairs. The bodies of the two guards were still there, but I closed my eyes and ran past them. With the last bit of adrenaline running down my body, I jumped through the window.

_OUCH!_

That hurt more than it should... They were running towards the very same path I entered. Maybe they were heading towards... that place. Damn it!

Everything looks grim now... It's like the own trees know what's happening. I can't hear the wind passing through the little forest, and even my footsteps sound like they are trying to hide from me.

For some reason, I'm glad that I'm away from that mansion. Something bad is happening.

"Stop!" A male voice stopped me.

I had already reached the clearing in front of the warehouse. A soldier was pointing at me with his gun. A chill ran down my spine.

"You are too from Night Raid, aren't you?" My eyes focused on the blond girl at his side. She is... She is the reason Ieayasu is dead!

I tried to move, but a small ball graced my rigth arm. The man had fired his gun.

"The next one will be in your head!" I can't run. If he is protecting that girl, it means he is as guilty as her!

He is at 18 meters away from me, more or less. I can't run fast enough to attack him with my sword. I'll have to use that then...

"O-Okay... I'm putting the sword away!" I yelled at him.

As my right hand raised the sword to put it in its sheath, my left hand slowly approached my belt. I hope he doesn't notice...

"I'm seeing your other hand move! Stop or... Shit!" Something had scared the soldier, as he briefly lost the grip of his gun. This is it!

Without losing a second, I pulled my secret weapon. A handgun! Some girl left it at my village, and my master made me learn to use it. He kept saying that these things were the future, but for some reason we still use swords. I guess it's easier?

Holding my breath, I aimed at his chest. I wasn't so sure of hitting his head with that helmet and my shaky hands.

I pulled the trigger, without almost feeling the recoil. I had used this gun for some years... Even when it was bigger than my hand. Mom still doesn't know that I have this.

The unnamed soldiers chest started to get tainted with blood before falling to the ground. What did he saw to lose control?

Wait, did he say something about Night Raid?

Wait, why do I feel like death himself is behind me?

"Not a target." Ah, it wasn't death himself. It was death herself! What a dumb...

"She's that girl form the posters?!" She just ran past me. What did she mean by target? Am I not good enough? Well... I think I prefer it this way.

Before I realized what had happened, a life had been taken. The blond haired girl fell down, in pieces. That was... ungodly fast. Is this the power of Night Raid? She killed her like a it was nothing and yet... why did she do it? Maybe... Maybe she know about all those horrors? Do they want justice too?

S-She's looking at me! Say something!

"I'm... I'm unarmed!" You're holding a pistol! "Eh...! I mean no harm?" As if I could hurt her!

She has a really expressionless face... You're friendly, so she shouldn't do anything, right?

"...Thanks. I guess." Maybe she's deaf. I don't want to know. I don't need to know.

"I'll just..." She started to walk away. If she doesn't say anything I guess I'm good.

I dropped to my knees. I... Well, she did it. She avenged Ieyasu and everyone else! She did justice! That means that-

"Ah! Nea!" I completely forgot! And it's way past the time we agreed to! But Ieyasu's body...

If I bring him... they'll accuse me for all those deaths. I'll come back tomorrow and I'll...

I killed three people. Why don't I feel... Any remorse? No, somebody who did or didn't confessed all those terrible things can't be called people. They were something else... I'm not a murderer.

I looked at the shining moon, and walked towards the place I left my bag. Sorry...

* * *

The capital is very creepy at night. I mean, there is light, but it's that eerie atmosphere that makes me feel bad. I guess it's normal. I feel my face covered by tears and blood.

Blood.

Oh no.

My coat is all covered in blood! I need to hide before any guards appear or I'll be in trouble!

"Raise your hands in the air!" Three guards surrounded me. "What the fuck... You are going straight to the pikes!" No! No, no, no!

"I can explain!" A muscular man with a scar where is eye should be appeared in front of me. His only functional eye was black and red, and had a rather unusual hairstyle.

"Oh? Really? What's your excuse kiddo? I don't think that the sauce excuse applies in your situation." He started to smile, like he knew already what the outcome is. He's not going to listen.

"N-Night Raid attacked the house where I stayed at!" Sorry Night Raid, but it's technically the truth.

"I heard that excuse exactly... twelve times. Was it twelve?"

"It was twelve sir."

"And we will go there, find your victims and send you right the death wagon." The soldiers that surrounded me started to laugh.

"If we don't find victims of Murasame, that means you did it. If we find them, then that means you're from Night Raid. Your fate is already decided." What is Murasame...?

"I-I swear! The blood is from my fallen comrades! They told me to flee while they hold them back! I... I swear..." Damn it, Ieyasu... Helping me even from the other side?

"Hm... That's new. But I don't really care. The reward I'll get from executing a member of Night Raid is higher." Is he... Does he only care about the money?! Even if I'm lying... I did it for justice! I'm...

"Justice seeker! I found you at- Captain Ogre!" Who is- It's Justice Girl! She... She will help right?!

"Ah, Seryu! You don't have to address me like that!" The captain answered proudly.

Uh... Hello?

"I can't help it! Oh? Are you trying the color red, Justice Seeker?!" She joked around as she saw me.

Why do you talk to me with such excitement?!

"I... Was trying to find Nea's dad and I got like this." Part truth? I guess at first I was trying.

"Yes, yes. Justice gets a bit messy, right Captain?" What kind of justice is she talking about? Wait, captain?

"So you know each other?" Ogre asked, looking at me with disgust. Seryu didn't notice or just didn't care.

"Affirmative! He's a Justice Seeker! Like myself! So he must be telling the truth as a great Justice See-"

"Stop calling me that." Seriously.

"Oh, sorry. What was your name? Wave?" Come again?

"Tatsumi. And like we're... _friends,_ could I... you know, be free? I mean, Seryu trusts me...?" I hope I pronounced her name correctly.

The soldiers around me didn't really move with this whole scene. This makes me wonder, who is Seryu? To be able to talk like that with a Captain of the Capital guard... But this man is corrupted too or at least it looks like it. Does she know that?

"I'll take care of him! If he does something bad, I'll tell you right away!" At least she looks like a nice person. But Ogre... maybe I can do something.

"Tsk... Fine. Just because you asked so nicely." She didn't ask, she just told you she would do it.

"Alright Justi- Tatsumi, let's go back with Nea!" She pulled me with more strength than I assumed she had. Appearances lie, I guess.

Like that girl with red eyes. You wouldn't think a girl like that would cut a person in half. Maybe Seryu does the same. I've seen too much today. Much more than I can handle.

"Oh, right..." I need to make Ieyasu's and everyone's wish to be true. And for that I'll...

"Captain Ogre, I challenge you for your current position!"

"Uh...?"

What? Did I say something funny? Why is everyone laughing?!

* * *

**So... Umm... Yeah, this is what happens when you read Spanish literature. **

**First off, if you're wondering why this is in first person, I tried to make everything seem more natural, and to get better sight of Tatsumi's new ideals. **

**Second off, yes, it's possible that Sayo is still alive. I repeat, possible. I don't want anyone to jump into conclusions so soon.**

**I don't know what was going on in my head when I wrote all those... "comedical"? Things. For some reason I felt like it. As I want this to go to a more... mature way, I guess they'll disappear with time.**

**Before I forgot. Why is this story called Dying Wish? I guess it's pretty obvious since a lot of people die in this... Now I'm sad...**

**And of course, tell me your thoughts about this if you do a review. **

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Beat Your Emotions

**Welp. Another chapter. Guess I should update my other story too...**

**The title is pretty much self explanatory**

* * *

"Now, Tatsumi. Remember those techniques can only be used in an extreme situation. Don't even dare raising up your sword if you aren't sure that you can do it." Tatsumi nodded. His master always said that last line, but he had never thought of killing somebody-

"The first technique. Start!"

Tatsumi focused on the dummy in front of him. The first technique was decapitation. That word always send shivers down his spine, but apparently you "only" cut somebody throat. It was even more scary like that.

One, two and three steps forward. Charging like that makes your enemy think you don't know how to fight, and in the majority of the cases they'll swing horizontally, straight to your neck.

However, before finishing your last step you dodge the strike by ducking, leaving the enemy open for your own attack.

The dummy's head fell with an audible sound.

"It doesn't make sense to do that with an inanimate object, but at least you know the basics. Also remember to dodge to the left if it's a downward swing. Next!"

Tatsumi didn't know why his master decided to train him and his friends, but apparently he was doing it because he felt like it. It was obviously a lie, but he couldn't really complain.

"Second technique!"

Clearing his mind again, Tatsumi started to feel the wind around him. The second technique was Flash Kill, but he preferred to name it sword flash for obvious reasons.

Without unsheathing your sword, you lung forwards like a lightning bolt. This move was effective against enemies who don't know where you are or who don't expect it. Doing this in the middle of the battle would be pretty obvious, and that's where the first technique would come in handy.

The dummy didn't even move when Tatsumi slashed his sword through it, which meant the complete mastery he had achieved whit this technique. Speed was his best skill after all.

"Are you sure you hit? Anyways, remember that you can also use this against gunmen... but I don't think you have the speed to do it before they react. Yet. The last one!"

His master never complimented him and he always teased him about things he didn't know. Apparently he did the same with Ieyasu. Sayo trained alone with her bow, but she usually trained along with Tatsumi.

The last technique was... well, it didn't have a name. You jumped and then lunged downwards with your sword. Nothing special...

The dummy's head was cut in half, as it fell with the rest of its severed body.

"And that's how you get yourself killed. Congratulations!" Tatsumi looked at him for a second, before realizing it was sarcasm.

"What? But I did it as you said!" Did he jumped in a bad way or something?

"You see, I said I would tell you the basics now you have to finish it." Tatsumi's face fell to the ground.

"You taught me... a unfinished skill."

"Yeah. Just implement it in your fighting style. Jumping leaves your defense unguarded, so try to make it up. This is the end of the second phase of your training, that means that I won't teach you anymore insta-kills. For humans at least."

The first phase of the training knowing how to grab a sword, your posture, balance... boring stuff. And then was the phase zero which shall not be remembered again. Just think about very disgusting things.

"Master, the iron sword... can I keep it? You said that I passed, right?" His master looked at him, before sighing.

"Well, you are going to bitch about it every day, so why not."

The boys face was filled with pure joy. This meant that he had accomplished something! Not only that, he could now protect his family and even hunt for food! Winter was coming and now he could help the village!

He started to ran back towards the village, but he saw two familiar faces in the way home.

"Sayo! Ieyasu! Look at this!"

"Whaaat?! He gave you a sword? Why did I get this axe?!" Ieyasu yelled at him showing him the iron axe.

"Because the sword belongs to the best fighter obviously!" He joked as he started to run away from his enraged friend.

"I got a bow..." Sayo said to nobody in particular.

"I AM the best! I didn't end up with water in my underwear!" They started to run into the village, with Sayo following them slowly.

"Eeeh?!"

They had started to train since a very young age. They all wanted to be famous people of the capital, and help their families. It was a distant dream, almost unreachable. But the path to reach that dream was very productive.

Tatsumi enjoyed this life with his friends, unaware of the rage that was building up in the people of the empire. But ignorance is a bliss, and with the amazing stories told by his master, it only fueled his curiosity for the outer world.

After hours of hanging out with his friends in the outskirts, Tatsumi returned to his house. The sun was already setting, and darkness was already falling on the small village.

"Um... Sayo, can I ask you something?" Ieyasu's home was in the east of the village, but Sayo and Tatsumi were neighbors. Although the term neighbor was a very vague term in a village with 30 persons.

"For the last time, I'm not bringing that sword to my house!" Sayo said sighing.

"Come on! You know how my mom is..." Even though his father approved of his training, his mother was overprotective with her only child.

"...Fine, but just for today! You better tell her tomorrow." She didn't mind, but Tatsumi relied too much in others... sometimes. The other half he's just stubborn.

"Thank you! I'll repay you with something!" With a smile, he took off the sword off his back.

"Then... Maybe tomorrow we can train together?" Tatsumi sensed the nervousness in her words, but he just shook it off as a girls thing. He was still immature in that aspect.

"Sure! It will be... entertaining." He actually didn't know how to feel about that one.

"Okay! See you tomorrow!" Tatsumi saw how the girl happily entered her house, before turning back to his own. It had been a good day.

"...re violence with the western refugees. The same as usual." He heard his father talking. He didn't understand most of the news his father brought, but for some reason he didn't tell him.

He slipped through the living room to enter his room. His father didn't venture too far from the village, but he went to the closest town where lots of exciting stuff happened. He usually brings something interesting for him. But it normally was something very stupid. Like that broken lamp. He didn't have time to clean that thing.

"Oi, Tatsumi! I heard you entering! Aren't you going to greet your father?" Why did he have to do this stuff?

"Ah! Hello!" He tried to get away with a simple answer, but it didn't work.

"Hey, don't be so cold. I've brought you something special!" Even though his father meant no harm, those artifacts he brought were... intricate.

"Don't tell me... More scrap metal?" His expectations were quite low.

"Oh no. This time is something big. It's in the cart." Tatsumi sighed, but he couldn't hide his curiosity. Something big? What could it be?

"I'll check it right now... How is everything... in the world?" He didn't know if his father told him the truth, but it was the closest thing he could get about the news in the world.

"The same as always. I heard the Ban tribe's rebellion was crushed but nothing special." Nothing special... Did nobody wanted to overthrow the Empire from the inside?

"Huh? Where is mom?" Wasn't his father talking to his mother?

"She went to the storage room. I would try to see my before she comes back." That sentence sparkled all his curiosity. Something his mom couldn't see? That could be awesome!

He left the house with a dazing speed. The night had already fall, but he didn't have any trouble to see with the village's lights.

He went towards the wooden cart, which didn't have the usual cloth covering it. Did the wind knock it off? But it had been a very calm day...

He approached the cart slowly, a bit of suspicion rising up in his back. Maybe there was an animal? That must be it, right?

"Hm... I'm just getting paranoid."

He opened the big box in the carriage, which was... a bit empty. It contained... leather armor!

It was something he had craved for! He could wear it with normal clothes, and have even more protection! But these were a bit big for him. Had his father just bought random armor?

"At least is something..." He grabbed the small pieces of armor, when he noticed something.

"Warm..." It couldn't be possible. They should be as cold as the ground. An animal wouldn't have been able to open the cover, much less putting the tap back again. The only possibility was...

"W-Who's there? I know somebody was here!" He looked all around him, but the houses and fences didn't let him see anybody.

He felt a shiver running up his back when he thought of a possibility.

He threw himself to the ground to see the bottom of the cart. Was somebody hiding there?

He didn't saw a person hiding. It was just his imagination. Surely.

"I guess I'm getting sick..." Shaking his head, he returned to his house with the new gear.

* * *

"What's so funny?!" What's wrong? Did that man lied to me? I can't challenge anyone to a duel? Or do they think I can't do it?

"Of course it is! You barely weight anything and you want to challenge the great Ogre? Boys like you have no discipline." One of the soldiers said with a mocking tone. That's what it is?

I guess Ogre was kind of right... I did killed- No! That wasn't murder at all! It was justified and they weren't persons at all! And he wanted to accuse me without any proof. And his looks don't help him... he has a lot of chances of being corrupted!

"Wimps like you must be taught a lesson! I am the one who has the power here." Ogre walked towards me, and raised his fist.

Why does he think he has the power? Because he's a captain, he can do everything? This is no different from those people... I'll... I'll make him-

"Wait a second!" Somebody pulled me to the ground, making me dodge the punch from Ogre. Damn it, justice gi- Seryu, whatever. I don't care anymore...

"Give him a chance, I'm sure he can fight you!" Why is she helping me? I literally did nothing impressive, or saved her life. Nothing worth mention! Why does she have this confidence in me? She hasn't even watched me fight!

"Seryu, I don't have time to deal with weaklings like him. If I accepted every challenge they send me, I wouldn't have a break." And what's with him changing of personality with her? Is he Seryu's father or something?

"I'm sure he can be a great ally! Right, Tatsu?" I'm literally done with this...

"Yes..." I felt my legs crumbling. My arms are literally melting and I barely can maintain my eyes open. No wonder he thinks I'm a weakling. I don't think I have a great look honestly.

"... Monday. That's five days from now. I want to start the day teaching a good lesson." He looked at me with a sadistic look. This just makes me want to punch him in the face even more!

"Thanks a lot! Tatsu, can you get up?"Oh yeah I totally can do that.

Never mind.

...

"Captain, are you sure this is a good idea? He obviously killed somebody!" One of the soldiers complained.

"I know. That's why he'll go straight to the torture chambers when he loses." He responded.

"In the hypothetic case that he wins... What will you do?" Another soldier asked.

"Give him my position."

"Seriously?"

"No, idiot. If he is part of Night Raid, we'll follow him and find out their hideout. If he isn't part of them, and just starts to kill random people, we'll get a nice reward for stopping him."

* * *

Dreamless night. I don't think I want to get up. Why is this world so cruel?

Ieyasu passed away and Sayo... I don't know where she is. Please, be okay. If I know that you're still alive, I will become someone important so you can find me.

She can't be dead. She is still alive. I'm sure!

I need to calm down. If I start to get desperate, I won't be able to fulfill Ieyasu's dream. That's right, he wouldn't want me to become such a coward. He's still hoping to see me do great things!

"Alright!" Where am I anyways? This looks like a very cheap room. Is Justice girl still around here?

Doesn't look like it. This room has a window, a bed and a nightstand. Nothing special.

I got up, and realized that I didn't have my coat on me. Even my face feels very clean. I don't complain but... Why is she doing this? Maybe... Maybe is this what they did to him?

"Oh god, I need to bury him!" I completely forgot! I'm such a bad friend! But, where is my sword? I can't lose it! Ieyasu is resting there!

I looked below the bed, but there was nothing. I even looked in the nightstand for some reason, even if it didn't fit there. I need to leave this room before I get anxious.

"Remember, be calm. Just let it all inside." I need to stop thinking these innuendos.

Before I could open the door, somebody opened it very slowly. It's... that strange dog again. And Seryu obviously.

"Ah! You woke up, Tatsu Tatsu!" I don't mind all this nicknames, but settle down with one already!

"G-Good morning. Em, how are you doing?" I just realized that I don't know how to talk to her. I should have asked her where am I.

"Perfectly Justice Buddy! I guess you already know where you are, that's good!" Ah damn it! Remember to be more straightforward.

"Yes... I need to get going, so... Thank you very much for helping me. I literally own you my life." I bowed deeply. Even if she's a little weird, I'm alive thanks to her. But I need to leave before I complicate things more.

"You don't need to thank me! It would be a injustice if someone like you died so soon." That's... making me blush... Think about something else like... that puppy! Yeah, that dog with two tiny hands, two tiny legs and- Where does his head start?

"Yes. Dogs. But I need to leave before- Gah!" She suddenly grabbed my arm and started to drag me. Why does he have that happy face?!

"You can't leave without eating breakfast! Then we can start to train, and maybe even have more justice!" Every sentence she says has literally always that word.

"Wait, train me? Why are you doing all of this? It's very suspicious if you ask me." I managed to break free from her grasp, but she still seemed very content about it.

"Well... I have my reasons." That's not an answer. "You remind me of somebody." I felt a taint of sadness filling the air.

"Was it because I saved a little girl?" She had dropped that state of happiness that she had moments ago. I think I should drop this... "Oh right, where is Nea?" You're a genius, Tatsumi!

"Her father showed up yesterday. It seems that he was looking for a job in the capital and she followed him all the way over here!" How does that work? She's blind!

I noticed some people were looking at me at the end of the hallway. They seemed like soldiers, but they were all young. The outfits also didn't match. AH! I know, these are barracks! And they are cadets or recruits. Or I'm an idiot and I'm in prison.

"Now that this is clear, you need to eat Justice Eater! Wait, that's Koro..." Eh?

* * *

You know, I've eaten with Sayo plenty of times. I feel natural around her. But now I'm eating in a strange cafeteria, with people looking at me suspiciously and this girl smiling like a madman. I'm feeling really uncomfortable right now...

"Why are these people looking at me...?" I whispered to nobody. This food is tasteless. Are you sure this is edible? The water tastes like iron and I don't have my-

"Seryu, where is my sword? You didn't throw it away, right?" She looked at me confused for a second, but then opened her mouth.

"Koro has it." Ah, that's totally understandable. Wait, what?

"But... he's right there. I... I don't see it." Is this her idea of a joke? "Seriously, I need it. It has a great value for me."

"I told you. He has it." I don't find it funny.

"Stop, tell me where is it. I'm serious."

"... Ah sorry, sorry. I thought you knew already! Koro is a teigu!" What? Is this the capital's joke style? Maybe they are just laughing at me because I'm from the countryside?! Well, I'll show them what a real joke is like!

"Teigu? I thought they were called Imperial Arms." Eh? Eh?! Get it? That joke is amazing! You know because the Empire, and the translations...! Ah, fine I'll stop. That's enough fourth wall breaking.

"... Ah, then you already know! You are updated on everything!" I need to stop acting like a smartass. I'll end up not knowing everything.

I guess that these teigu she talked about is some kind of chest? Maybe Koro is a portable chest and he has my sword. That explains his weird appearance.

I finished eating, and got up from the table. I realized that even with all the people that were inside, nobody was talking. I guess I'm really out of place. Everybody has this uniform and I'm stuck with my clothes. I guess I would feel more confident with my sword and my coat but...

"Thanks for everything, but I really need to do something." I headed for the exit. Wait, where is the exit?

"Wait! You need to train for your duel!" She is very persistent! I need to bury Ieyasu no matter what.

"I'll come back for that, but if I don-" Before I could move, she grabbed my sleeve. She is really getting on my nerves, and that's really hard! Can't she just give up? I'll come back, isn't that enough?

"You can't go back there. It's a crime scene." How does she...? I didn't say anything when I made up that 'confession'. "You said... You said that your partners defended you, right? You can't do anything there."

"... Even then, I need to- Alright, why is everybody looking at me?" This is bugging me out. Even if I'm out of place, you can still talk! I don't think this is so weird!

...

"...You said you wanted to train. Let's go."

Calm down, Tatsumi! You are in a hostile environment with no friends, but you can't let it control you. You'll destroy some dummies, run some kilometers and you will sleep like a kid. I will be... totally fine. You don't need any moral support.

"Yes! Let's go, Justice Trainee!"

We reached a courtyard, which was occupied by some recruits training. It seemed that it was used as a training ground, even if it had lack of materials. This is the capital, right?

"Are you sure this is okay? I'm not in the army." Yet...

"A challenger has the right to use the training grounds of the capital! Except of the palace. Don't go in there." That would be very stupid even for me.

"Koro, give him the sword." Ah yeah, I hope it isn't covered in mucus or saliv- Wait a damn second. How does this work? The dog is even smaller than my legs, and there is no way the sword fits in there! Maybe that is why they're called teigu. Because magic.

"Let's see..." Why is she putting her hand there?! That mouth has more teeth than a danger beast! By the way... what does that thing eat? I mean, it's all cute and all, but I guess it must eat something?  
"Here you have!" It... It even has the sheath. I know that she probably did it with all of her heart, but you could have hidden it below the bed.

"Thanks." I guess it isn't drenched. "Hey, Seryu. The duel... it's only with swords?" I guess I need to know before doing anything.

"Partly. A member of the Imperial Army must master; firearms, bows, spears, swords, and hand to hand combat. But I think you only need to win in three of those categories. Are you listening?"

B-Bows... Damn... I think I won't have problems with the sword and gun challenges or whatever, but even if I know how to handle a spear and bow, I just know the basics. And I can't improve it in just four days. I don't know about the hand combat, that might be the key to win.

"Why... bows? Nobody uses them these days." Almost everyone uses firearms. The only one I know that uses a bow is Sayo, and that's more tradition than usefulness. It's not an insult Sayo!

"I think it's more tradition than anything." Nailed it.

"O-Of course. Then, you know all of that too?" She definitely doesn't look to have that much strength, but I haven't seen her doing much besides talking and smiling every time.

"No." That was too fast! "I'm in the Imperial Guard, so we are only taught with firearms...and martial arts." Why did she say so quietly...? Wait, that's very convenient.

"That's great! Maybe you can taught me some unique hand to hand skills?"

"Oh... Ok. Hey, Tatsumi... could you do me a favor?" Did... Did she just called me by my name?! This is good, and bad at the same time.

"I guess it's the least I can do. I don't want to have a big debt with you." I already owe her too much...

"Could you tell those people to leave?" I looked over to five soldiers talking with each other. They didn't seem like soldiers, but they looked tough.

"Why? This place is very big. We can go to the corner if you want." Maybe she is in bad terms with them? She didn't look very popular, but I guess she's still kind of cute. Eh, I mean... boys talk to girls, right?! Or girls with girls. Although I haven't seen one here. You know what I mean.

"But I don't want them seeing us..." What's with those puppy eyes?

It's possible that like I appeared out of nowhere, everybody hates me. Even she wouldn't want her reputation to drop down. I can't get a rest, can I?

"Whatever. I'll see what I can do..."

Tsk... Why am I doing this? I could train on my own! What if I own her my life? I can train alone. I've been doing that since...

I guess Ieyasu would do this. And Sayo would yell at me if I didn't do it. I will... continue this path.

"Em... Hello, uh, persons." Yeah that's right Tatsumi. Show them who's boss.

"Fuck off." Whoa! Rude.

"Hey, isn't he the one who's around that crazy chick?" Who does he mean? Seryu? She's weird, but I haven't seen- Well, that freaking dog is strange, but still, I wouldn't call her crazy.

"I don't want to be eaten. Let's get out of here before she starts to go nuts." This was easy... Strangely easy.

"Hey, challenger, maybe we should warn you. Do you know what happens when you lose the sword duel? The captain will have the right of killing you. The best thing is that is totally legal." He's... going to kill me?

"Oh god, he didn't know! Now the surprise factor is gone." But I can't die. I must complete everyone's dream.

"Well, let's leave the walking corpse to 'train'. I'm beating 50 that he lasts less than thirty seconds!" The recruits started to leave, but I had an uneasy feeling running down my spine.

It wasn't about the possibility of dying. Well, that gets you shaken up, but there was something else that bothered me. I Seryu actually crazy? She has been very kind and polite... Too polite and kind. It's even strange. What if... What if I'm following the same path as Ieyasu? Am I being lured into a false sense of security, just to end up dead? She wouldn't...

No, stop being naïve! This is what happened to Ieyasu, and I won't end up with the same fate. I need to be on guard from now on.

"Good job! Now we can start!" Her voice made me jump, even if I saw her coming my way. She's so loud...

"Well... I suppose the archery and marksmanship will be with an still target, right?" I don't think they'll made us hit each other with those.

"Right on board! The other three will be against the Captain." Seems about right...

Just from a first look, I would guess he's very strong physically. With a little bit of logic, I think he won't be as fast, which means that if he can't hit me, I will win. With a bit of luck, maybe I can win without using spears or bows.

"Is Ogre good with a bow or firearm?" Does this count as cheating? I don't think it does.

"N- Ah! I can't tell you that! The element of surprise would be gone!" It kind of did when I found out that he will kill me.

"Well, let's start! Start running! Koro will follow you!" I haven't accepted her help!

"I don't think he will able to catch me." He's... Wait, he? Maybe is she? Whatever, it looks kind of fat.

"Koro!"

I mean, he has those tiny arms, two tiny legs, some sharp teeth, and HOW THE HELL DID HE GROW UP SO MUCH?!

WHY IS A GIANT DOG FOLLOWING ME! IT'S TRYING TO EAT ME!

"Don't worry! You won't lose any limbs!" I WILL LOSE MY LIFE!

"I'LL KILL IT!" Run, run, run!

I'm literally running as fast as I can, and the behemoth behind me is jumping and dashing like a demon! Is this why she wanted those guys out?! To murder me without witnesses?!

After literally 10 minutes of running at top speed, I started to get exhausted. And Seryu was just observing me like a little girl watching a magic trick for the first time. You know what?

I switched directions abruptly, making the demon dog behind me trip over. And it resounded like a bell. Using those seconds of happiness to my advantage, I reached over to Justice girl.

"Make...It stop! This... Won't... Help!" Why was I doing this?! This doesn't help!

"Fine... But we're still training afterwards!" With just a simple hand movement, the hellish dog came over to us silently.

When he was small he looked kind of cute. Now that thing will appear on my nightmares.

"Now then... cut his arm off." What?

"I'm... sorry? What do... you mean?" I was still breathing pretty hard, but I think I heard those words correctly.

"Wait a second. Koro, do you want to?" Of course he doesn't! Why would I want to cut his arm? Even if I had said that I would kill it...him...her...

"Ok! You can do it Tatsu!" What?! But...? What?!

"Why would I... Do that?! Isn't he your dog? Why would you want me to-?" Before I could finish my rambling, she raised her hand.

"Don't worry, he can regenerate! Maybe you knew a teigu was, but not an organic teigu?" My mind is overheating. Seriously, what?!

"Unless you destroy the core, Koro can keep regenerating." I see... I still don't know what the hell is a teigu, but I don't they are magical pockets or chests.

"...What happens to the severed arm when I cut it?" We looked at each other with confusion.

"Um... I don't know. Nobody has cut it before." Oh, that gives me a great confidence boost.

After several tries, I gave up. That thing doesn't have any bones, yet I couldn't cut its arm in one swing. It's like clay... but with blood. I'm surprised that my one and only shirt is still intact.

At least hell dog is back to cute dog. That's a great advance for humanity.

"I think you have possibilities of beating the cap! That is... if you are as skilled with the other weapons as you're with the sword." I take offense to that. Just to not let my guard down.

"That will be no problem. Iey- Justice is at my side...! Hehehe..." Almost destroyed that one! No wait, I think I made it worse.

"Your laugh is weird." Looks who's talking. Even if I've never heard you laugh. Huh... that's weird.

"Whatever..." I should visit Nea. And I should also try to bury him... Maybe I'll take advantage of the lunch break. I hope she doesn't notice.

Just as I finished setting up my plan, I felt something pulling my leg.

"Ah... Koro, don't eat my leg." No, wait, he's holding something in that tiny arm.

"For me? A... A rock. Well, thanks." I guess he's thanking me? That doesn't make any sense. The dog doesn't make any sense. Teigus don't make any sense. This world doesn't make any sense...

I want to talk to somebody... But, I don't know anyone. I can't speak to Seryu, because I don't know if she's really trying to pull some tricks or something. I don't have any friends, except...

Sayo... you're still somewhere right? You couldn't have died. You are alive and well, and you just don't know where I am. We will meet again... I don't want to lose anyone else. I won't be able to-

"...Tatsumi, are you all right?" I noticed how my eyes started to water up. I need to hold this all in me... How much will I last?

"Yes... Something got in my eye." Stop thinking this. Calm down, and look forward. You... can do this.

"... Fine." She looked concerned, but I can't trust her. Am I really alone?

* * *

Why does everything go wrong?!

"Could you remind me, why are you following me?"

Seriously. I left the barracks to find Nea's home, and after some minutes Seryu was again behind me! She is annoying me too much!

"You don't know where her home is at."... Clever girl. She had even a good answer.

"And what about the doggie?" I refuse to call that thing cute again. But those tiny arms... Wah!

"We do everything together! We are partners!" Everything...?

"Don't think about that..."

"Yesterday some outlaws tried to enter her home." Wait, what? What's with the serious face? Don't tell me she is...!

"Ah, don't worry. Koro dealt with them. Right Koro?" The dog waved at me. Dealt with them...? What does she mean?

"Then, nothing happened to her? Thank god..." After all, she did nothing wrong.

After I said those words, neither of us talked. Maybe it was because we didn't know what to talk about, or just because she was there just to watch over me. And you know what I mean with that. Maybe Nea knows a bit more about her? She did spend a day with her.

I looked over at the streets, which even if they looked lively, a strange atmosphere filled the air. That feeling got more overwhelming when we reached a more poor part of the capital. A lot of people have to deal with this decrepit place, and they can't leave it.

If I remember correctly, you can buy yourself your own noble title with enough money. And with enough I mean a lot. Probably, if all this people gathered all their earnings, they still wouldn't be able to buy that title. This is one of the reasons I don't like this world...

Don't worry people... The instant I get military authority, everything will start to change! Maybe I should even make public speeches... Uh, actually hold on with that one. I don't even know how to talk to strangers, much less to a mass of people. Well, I did talk with an assassin and managed to escape. Yeah, we could even say that I beat Akame!

Okaaay, don't get full of yourself Tatsumi.

"I think it was over here." Seryu passed me as she approached an alleyway.

You know, she has a long ponytail. I noticed it earlier, but I didn't look directly at it. It reaches almost to the ground. Why am I staring at her like this? Maybe I should stare towards the middle and watch her bu- Okay, don't look there!

...

Damn, now I'm thinking about that all the time!

"..." Don't look at me like that Koro! It was an accident!

"Yep, it was here." Oh thank god.

"Let's visit her before I... see more things."

Trying to reset my mind, I walked towards the alleyway. It looked fairly clean, but it was probably the lack of people on this street. There was only a house that looked inhabited.

I knocked exactly three times, but nobody seemed to respond. Maybe they're not here?

"Eh, hello? Anybody?" Almost like a breeze, the door opened robotically. It was then when I saw the little girl, accompanied by an older man.

"Tatsumi!" The girl rushed towards my leg. Good thing I didn't move.

"So you are Tatsumi." The man, who looked in his thirties, greeted me."Thanks for saving my daughter." He bowed with respect.

"Anybody would have done that..." I don't get praised too much, but it always gives a nice refresh of happiness.

"Sadly that's not true. Most would have walked away, and I feel sorry that I don't have anything to repay you." He's right... Most would have ignored her.

"You don't need to, really. But, why were those thugs after you? It was a grudge of some kind?" The man scratched the back of his head, like trying to make her thoughts faster.

"Well... I'm an... information seeker. I discovered some nasty things about them and you can guess what happened." But... Nea said you were looking for her mom? Maybe that's the reason he finds information.

"That reminds me... Nea, sorry for not appearing yesterday. I got into trouble." I crouched down to her level. Even if she couldn't see me, she would be able to hear me better.

"He fought against Night Raid!" Seryu said those words just behind me, appearing suddenly in the conversation.

"I didn't fight! More like running away." Was she trying to make her feel better or what?

"But it's still a good achievement." She was trying to reassure her, or me? In either way, it wasn't working.

"In any case... Sorry about that. Did you at least have fun?" Well, Seryu isn't exactly fun but the- That dog didn't try to eat her right?!

"Hm... Yes?" That isn't reassuring.

She got closer to me, whispering me in the ear. "She is scary." Seryu?

Maybe I was right all along. She really is trying to murder me?

"I'll try to come back after I'm in the Imperial Army." I got up and stretched my arm toward Nea's father.

"You... are entering the Imperial Army?" His tone was of surprise. Maybe he thought I was just a traveler?

"Yes. I'll start changing things." His expression of disappointment turned into a more complex one. Was he surprised or did he think I was crazy?

He looked back at Seryu and nodded like he understood something.

"I see, I see. If you need something, remember that I could lend a hand." We shook hands, but I was left with a strange aftertaste. I think I have a new ally!

"I was about to say the same thing. Try to not get into more trouble!" I waved my hand and started to leave.

I felt my heart exploding when something tapped my back.

"See? They are fine. No more injustice being done." It's settled. I can't trust Seryu. Her nature is really strange, and it doesn't help that I don't know her motives to help me.

I can't judge her without any real evidence but... I'll try to be more sharp.

"Are you sure you're fine? You look very pale." Even if she looks concerned, I don't need her reassuring!

"Yes." I didn't need to tell her more, I can't be naive around her...

Even walking down the street, I could feel her concerned glare drilling my back. Maybe... Maybe is something that happens only to girls...? I mean Sayo disappeared once in a while but... Where are you when I need you! She is the smart one!

I know ignoring a person is bad but... She will... do the same thing! She is going to kill me! I know this and yet... I feel so bad about doing this! Maybe I am wrong?

"Tatsumi... I have the night shift so I can't be with you." She sounded so sad... But I can't feel bad!

"It's only the afternoon." Why am I answering? I need to let her know that I don't like her!

"I need to know if something interesting happened... Do you where my room is?" I why do I need- Wait, her room? I slept in her room?

"I think so..." Then, why didn't she try to kill me in the night? Maybe is because she was out? Or just because it could be very suspicious? "You don't have a roommate?"

"No. I'm not very famous there." I can tell. They called you crazy, and the people in the canteen weren't really friendly. I still haven't seen her crazy, and that just makes me scared.

"I see. I know how to get there, so you can go." She nodded and left like nothing happened.

Maybe she is thinking why did I change so quickly of character. I'm surprised even myself. A week ago I would have believed anyone that seemed friendly, and now I can't even trust a dog. I'm really pathetic...Maybe I should give Seryu a chance...? Damn it! I feel so conflicted right now!

* * *

About an hour later, I reached the barracks. I kind of lied about knowing how to get there. I knew it was in a straight line, but those streets just go to the left and right like it's nothing!

Hey Sayo, you could use your bow to send me a map or something? Or you know, you could always appear when I open this door.

I opened the door and saw that it was empty. Suspiciously empty... The entrance to the barracks was like a lobby, except there wasn't a receptionist. Obviously this isn't a hotel, so that's normal. Maybe is because I'm still on edge after all of this.

"Ah! I need to find Ieyasu!"

With a strike of luck, I dodged by accident a wooden plank that somebody swung. I noticed that it was a recruit that I saw in the canteen.

"What the-" Somebody restrained my hands just before I reached my sword. What was going on?!

I tried to kick whoever was behind me, but they punched me in the ribs. That hurts!

My hands were tied, and somebody grabbed my legs which meant that I was face down in the floor defenseless. Why was this happening?!

"So you think you can just climb your way up so easily?!" I didn't recognize the voice, but I had also seen that recruit before. There were at least seven people around me

He stomped on my head.

"We've been training for years, and a fucking shit like you won't take our posts!" Another recruit kicked me in stomach. I didn't know...!

I saw how he grabbed the wooden club that was almost used on me. If I was wounded now... I won't be able to duel Ogre. Everyone will suffer because of that, and I'll end up dead.

Yes, there have been people that deserve to be promoted. But those people do it without making people suffer, and they try to defend everyone.

"If you think you deserve that post more than me... Try to hit me." I felt how oppressing the atmosphere felt. He was mad which means..

I feel the wind around me...

He raised the club far beyond his head. He was going to give me so much time?

My hands were tied behind my back, but that wasn't a problem. The legs might be a problem. Or not.

With all my strength, I broke the grip on my legs. The guy was distracted, and he didn't put too much pressure. Before the guy recovered I kicked him in the nose, breaking it.

I still had time to dodge the club that headed towards my head. Raising an object so big up your head requires a lot of strength. It's very stupid to do that. I learnt that.

Rolling on the floor, I managed to get up with a sudden move. I saw seven persons before, but in front of me were just four. Three of them where on my back.

"G-Get him!" While I was trying to untie my hands, I felt a wave of winds from my back.

Somebody tried to knock me down with a punch, but I had seen him coming. Dodging to the left, I quickly jumped and hit him with the knee. I felt how I broke some teeth. One down.

I felt another person trying to punch me, but I wasn't quick enough. I felt how my right cheek started to burn. How can I cut this rope holding me? Obviously nobody will swing his sword down the exact spot where my tie is at.

Feeling a bit anxious, I looked around the room for something useful. To the right!

Somebody had pulled a sword, but I wasn't crazy enough to turn my back on him. I'll have to beat him with my legs!

Just after I finished dodging the sword, another club came my way. Fortunately, I used my memento to duck without a problem. Before he gathered enough strength to break down his previous movement, I kicked him in the nuts. Two down.

To hell with this, I'll break the rope with my own strength!

Another attacker tried to restrain me again from behind. The swordsman tried to strike me down again but...

Before any of that happened, I rolled away. Luckily, or unluckily, the swordsman stopped before he chopped in half his buddy.

"The fuck dude?!"

"Alright. Beating down a citizen, who has the protection of an Imperial Guard, and then claiming to do it for justice, the sentence is... an eye for an eye." I was able to break the rope. It wasn't very hard, as all the rolling made it a bit weak.

"So, who is first?" The grip of my sword felt comfortable... This will be easy. Let's do this, Ieyasu!

The swordsman lunged at me first. I easily dodged his vertical strike, and kicked his knee. He lost his balance and I punched him in the face with all my might. Three down.

The guy with the club was easier. He swung his club horizontally, trying to fix is first error. However a wooden club doesn't have much resistance, unless it's as big as a log. I blocked the club, and it broke easily.

I smashed his nose with the pommel of the sword. Four down.

I turned around to see the other three accomplices. Two boys and a girl.

"I haven't seen you do anything wrong with me." They all sighed relived. "However, when you watch a crime, you need to go call for help or stop it yourselves. Which means your sentence is..." I raised my sword.

"Could you bring all of them to the medic? I think that's a good sentence." I sheathed the sword in my back.

"Y-Yes sir!"

I felt the rush of adrenaline disappear. I couldn't feel the wind around me anymore.

I reached Seryu's room. My right cheek hurt a lot. I felt a bit dizzy.

I closed the door and leaned my back against the wall. I involuntarily lost control of my legs and felt to the ground.

"I'm... doing the right." Why is everyone against me? I'm trying to do this for the sake of everyone. Then why is this happening?

I'm not a bad person, I help everyone who needs help. And what do I get? My best friend died, I lost Sayo, another girl might be trying to murder me, some angry recruits almost beat me up, and I don't have any friends in the capital.

I felt tears going down my face.

"I'm all alone..."

All the stress and tension finally wearied me down. In this moment, I would have preferred to be attacked by Night Raid.

* * *

"You should have talked to him, Leone." A green haired boy said.

"He called me a hooker! He was lucky enough to not have been in the wrong place at the wrong time." She responded.

"Ah! I get it. You dress like that to get innocent boys to trust you! And here I thought you did it for me..." The girl started to twist his arm, making him cry out.

"Fine, fine!... You do it for the eye candy then? Oh god, STOP! I'M SORRY!"

"You're asking for it!"

* * *

**I tried to make Seryu annoying. I realized that I couldn't do it in this chapter because of... spoilers.**

**This was a rather depressing chapter for me to write. Don't know why. **

**I don't know if I need to reply reviews with P.M. or just post it here. Like I don't know, I'll post them right here and now!**

_**-DarkBeast42- **_**Thanks! About your complain, even if Tatsumi is pretty fast, he can't run 18 meters before he gets shot... yet. He will have revenge with that one.**

_**-SennyBee98- **_**About that EsdesexTatsumi... I can't say anything. Maybe it's a yes, or a no. Depends on your point of view.**

**Thanks for all the positive feedback! And because of that, how about the next chapter is a doble chapter? Technically they were going to be small chapters but, to hell with that. Who wants to wait two weeks after all? I guess you could call it a christmas present.**

**If you liked this chapter, please review, favorite or follow! Thanks again!**


	3. Control the Wind

**All the new characters that appear here a pure filler! Seriously! So don't expect too much!**

**I have been paying more attention to my grammar and everything. And gotta love some descriptions.**

* * *

It wasn't always like this. I remember when I didn't really cared about the world.

Sure, I did know that very bad things were happening in the Empire, but what could I do? I was just one person.

At first, going to the capital started as a joke between Sayo and me. But after that incident... It became more than that for me. I felt so useless in that moment, and yet...

I can't remember what happened, and it's very frustrating. I just remember me wanting to protect something. And cold. Freezing. It felt awfully cold. Nothing like the worst winters I had suffered. It was unnatural.

I gained and lost so much that day. I think that I stopped being a kid since that day.

I still played with my friends, but I couldn't think of it the same way. Knowing that I was so useless... made me very mad. I started to train day and night, even if my master abandoned me. He left when I needed him the most.

It has been almost six years since then. I'm here in the capital. I will join the Imperial Army but... But I'm not happy. I haven't been happy since I got separated from Sayo and Ieyasu.

They were the only pillars that supported me, and one of them... broke, leaving the other unstable.

I'm alone in a wild world. Maybe... Maybe I can find somebody to rely on? I can't go on alone like this.

Even then, I'm stuck in this stupid situation, with someone who probably might kill me. This was the only thing I could think of while I looked at the room.

The faint light that passed through the only window of the room felt unnecessary. It barely lighted anything, and I couldn't even feel the warm of the sun.

Speaking of emotions... I'm in a bed. What? Bed equals comfort. Except this bed feels more like a brick wall.

"Hm..." My stomach hurts. I'm hungry. And thirsty. Ah, that's right... I cried all night. I'm really pitiful.

I looked over to the bed next to the other wall. It was empty. Does Seryu really sleep here? Or I just entered another bedroom? I don't think so.

"...Come on Tatsumi... You need to kick some captain's ass." Now I'm talking to myself. Nice move brain.

Trying to make me feel better?

"Sure thing." I just acknowledge it.

I slowly got up from the bed, only to feel my left foot touch something warm. It feels fluffy...

"It's you... hell dog." The teigu was just laying on the floor sleeping. Does that thing even need to sleep? I haven't even seen it eat.

As if it knew what was going throw my mind, the small dog woke up, standing up immediately. My eyes were still a bit sleepy, but I could see that it had something in his tiny paws.

How does it grab things...?

"What are you doing... here?" Is it like my alarm or something? It didn't do a good job if that's the case.

The dog looked at me and gave me a rock. Another rock. What does this mean?

"Why did you give me this?" I grabbed it and looked at it. There wasn't anything strange with it. It's just like any other rock you would find in the street or the forest. It's not even a rock, more like a pebble.

It didn't answer. Not like it could anyways. I would start to leave this city if the dog talked. I'm not dealing with more weird things.

"Fine. I'll keep it. Now... take me to your leader!" He responded me with a nod. AH! It does understand me!

I opened the door for him. The poor thing can't grow five meters in his own. It would be very unfair if that happened.

The corridor was dead. Nobody was here, not like it mattered. It seems like this part doesn't have much activity going on. Better for me.

I followed the pup until we reached another corridor, this one without any doors. There was only one at the end of it, which lead to the main hall. Main hall and exit... and everything. It's like the point where everything leads to.

"How did you get here? All the doors are closed." Man... I'm really desperate. I'm talking to that thing.

He shook his head. Maybe I could trust him? I mean... a dog is innocent. Unless it's under the wrong owner. Which may be the case...

"Did Seryu come with you? Wait, that's obvious. Did she... do anything to me?" She wouldn't poison me in my sleep, right? I'm kind of alive right now so...

He nodded. HE NODDED. DON'T FREAK OUT.

"Did she paint something in my face?! Wait no, she didn't inject me things right?!" How is he going to answer?! The only thing he can do is say yes or no!

I touched my face in order to feel anything strange. Aside of the wound in my cheek, it felt normal... Maybe she doesn't want to kill me. But how would I know? I can't trust anyone. If I let my guard down, I'll die.

I opened the last door, and saw that the main hall was already occupied by a handful of people. They didn't seem to recognize me, so that's good.

Let's see... Strange girl... Where is an strange girl... Ah, there she is!

It seemed that Koro had already found her, but I wasn't paying attention to him. I went towards them, as I had a very important question to ask her.

"Good morning." There, there. Trying to sound cold! Wait, why was I doing this? I completely forgot. If I act like that maybe she'll kill me right away! But maybe if I act too comfortable she'll think I let my guard down and kill me right away! Agh! I'm being too paranoid!

"Morning Tatsu! Ready for another day of training?" She isn't going to ask about my wound? I mean, it's not like I want to explain but... Oh that's right! I have to ask her that!

I let my hand fall in her shoulder, as I prepared. "Where is the bathroom?"

"Eh...? That way." She pointed to the right corridor. Why would it be so far...?! It's literally a matter of life and death!

* * *

After fixing my life-threatening situation, we instantly went to train. Not after eating some bread... mostly because I was starving, and I didn't want to go to that canteen again.

This room was very different from the training grounds just outside the barracks. It looked like it was meant to be an important part of some kind of discipline exercise.

The ground was made of a foreign material, but it felt rather warm. Unlike the main building, this place was made of wood, but there was something that made me feel uneasy...

"You wanted to know martial arts, right? I'll try to teach you something." She said with a rather serious expression. Maybe she was the one who made the air feel so oppression.

She started to take of the shoulder plates of her armor. I couldn't help but wonder what it's supposed to protect... I mean, I know that it's important to be protected, but they just felt heavy. I'm not wearing that. Ever.

"Don't be too hard..." I whispered to the air. She's going to kick my ass, isn't she?

If so... Serious time.

"Tatsumi. This isn't a game. You could be seriously injured." She looked like a different person. Her voice, stance and expression... I'm not liking my chances.

But I can't afford to lose an arm! I'll just... take a tactical retreat if anything goes wrong. And that means running a lot.

I took off the sheath from my back, and lay it in the ground. I'm not actually the best fighter without a sword but I'll try!

She can't be that strong... She's barely my height I should easily win by strength. Wait, remember that logic sometimes takes a trip to the highlands. Just... protect your eyes body.

I took the only battle stance I know. It wasn't perfect, but it was something.

We were at least... five meters apart. And Koro was just in the middle of it. When he moves, we'll start.

I just need to control the wind around me. That's what Sayo always says. Or something like that. I just know that she said something about wind. Or maybe it was water...

Concentrate...

Seryu must be a skilled fighter... I haven't seen such a serious expression since that day. And the fact that it's the first time I see it on her, makes it even more scary.

No more talking...

The instant the organic teigu jumped out of the way, I tried to quickly reduce the distance between us. The thing was, Seryu was having none of that.

Before I realized, I sloppily blocked one of her punches that made slide on the ground. She was very fast! Are her arms made of metal or what the hell?!

"Dodge is always the first option. Blocking is a last resort."

She seemed to have slowed down, maybe because she realized I wasn't at that level. Even then, I could barely see her movements.

As she said, I tried to dodge if I could, but the main reason was that she packed a punch. I knew I was right at the defying logic!

Even then, she had me in the defensive. And she was holding back. Damn it! I need to at least attack once! If there was something I could do...! I know!

As she tried to punch me again, I moved all of my body to the right. Without losing a second I grabbed her right arm to hit her with my knee. With all respect, I mention that I TRIED doing that. But...

Huh... Why am I in the ground?

For some reason, I was face down in the ground with Seryu in top of me. She was restraining my left arm, but for some reason I can't feel the p- No, there it is!

"Good try." Ouch... She's going to snap my arm!

"Ah...! I forfeit?" Please, tell me she isn't going to kill me. Freaking wind didn't help at all!

Luckily, my fears were pure speculation. She released me and got off me. I prefer strange Seryu than serious Seryu. That rhymed. Well, not really...

"You can get up, Tatsu." Oh. She's back to normal. Which isn't normal at all.

I got up as the pain in my left arm decreased. At least she didn't break it. Anyways, I want to know what happened.

"How did you... That was impressive!" I need to say, that was pretty neat. Although I would have preferred to see it from the distance rather than myself.

"Hohoho... Are you surprised by my great skill?!" She started to laugh like a maniac. Here we go...

"It was nothing. I made you trip, and as you were falling you released me. Then I grabbed your arm in return." I don't know who is she trying to impersonate. Maybe like a big sister or what the hell?

That would have sense... but why me!

"Then... what did I do wrong?" I asked seriously, contrasting her joyful expression.

"You have a lot of lag between your legs and arms. You need to move them in unison or you'll be very predictable." She changed to serious again. I'm beginning to think that she has a double personality or something.

"Oh... I see. So how do I do that?" I'm going to be nice for a bit. It's been ages since someone taught me things!

* * *

After a whole day of getting my ass kicked, I learnt how to move at unison. I mean, it's not perfect, far from it, but it's a start. Not only that, but I learnt how to have a tolerable battle stance. Apparently I was leaving my guard opened.

Now I'm heading back to sleep. I'm worn out... And luckily I won't think of sad things. I need to be strong.

I'm still having that weird feeling about Seryu, and today's training with her didn't really help. There must be something that she sees in me... Maybe a familiar? Maybe she has a brother or something. She acts like we've known each for ages...

Luckily, I'm not related to her. I don't think so anyway. My family has been stuck in that village for a long time.

Now I'm thinking about my bloodline... Good work brain. You need to sleep.

Wait, I am the brain. Or am I the soul? The hell am I thinking about?

"I'm really tired..."

"Me too." Seryu said beside me.

"I forgot you where there." Not really. Just chose to think of my stuff.

She seems to have learnt about not bothering me when I'm like this... Is it that obvious? I'm not looking into the sun dramatically or anything.

"You... You said you had the night shift yesterday. That means you haven't sleep yet?" I said confused.

"Yep. 24 hours serving justice!" She answered proudly. I'm beginning to understand why people call her crazy. She talks about justice fanatically. Even more than me.

Oh god, I don't sound like that, right?!

"And hel- Koro doesn't sleep?" I guess he doesn't. My theory is that it's not really a living thing, just sentient. Which means... how the hell did they made him?

"Well, he rests for awhile. But I don't know if he really needs to," Neat. So he can kill me while I sleep.

"He can't kill unless I tell him." She said casually.

Oh.

Now I'm really scared of her.

"What was that about?" She can't read minds! It was a random quote surely...

"You look at him regularly, when he isn't in front of you." Do I reveal my cards? Do I confront her about her motives and my suspicion of being killed by her?

Not yet... Koro is still whit her. I can't risk it.

"It's not every day when you find a dog that can change shapes and probably eat you."

"Ah... but you can trust me! He won't do anything that goes against justice!" No, that's precisely why I can't trust you. I don't even think that he knows what's justice.

"...Yes. Before we go to sleep..." I said as I opened the bed to her bedroom. "Do you... You know, want to change into night clothes or something?"

"Hm... You don't want to enter?" She said completely normal.

"W-Why would I want to?! I don't want to... I don't need..." How do you answer to that?!

"Oh, sorry. I forgot you aren't in the army..." Uh? And what does that mean? I thought she would refuse or something.

"Alright! Wait for a bit!" She really trusted me? I could be a serial killer you know... Well, I have killed three men so...

Why does she get to change clothes while I have been wearing literally the same clothes since I arrived? I mean, I have another set of clothes to sleep but... I can't wear the same shirt for all eternity! Even I have some hygiene standards...

As I leaned against the wall, I felt something grabbing my leg. Why is he still here?

"What is it Koro?" The damn thing is just messing with me.

He stretched his arm a bit, and showed a small flower.

"A flower? Is it because I did well in the training?" The dog nodded.

"Then... the rocks were because I was doing bad?" He nodded again.

"And the reason for this is...? Oh yeah you can't answer." Maybe he really knows what we talk about.

"Hey, is Seryu-" I was going to say a good person, but she is his master. It's obvious what he would answer.

"...I think it's raining..."

As I wondered about that, the door opened. I should have thought this through...

"You can pass!" When I meant nightclothes, I didn't mean to leave yourself only in your underwear.

Don't look at her body... Don't look at her body...

"Tatsu? Are you okay?" Totally calm!

"I was thinking that... This door is made of oak! Great wood..." I'm going to have another wood like this..."Sleep is good. I'm going to sleep."

Damn it hormones! I thought we were pass that phase! She is... She is going to kill you, that's right! Just think of that!

That's totally not my fetish.

"Tatsumi." Ah damn it! I'm sleeping in my bed. Nothing bad!

"What?"

As I tried to calm down a bit, I looked at her. She was also in her bed.

"Wanna touch?" Eh?

"Ah... Eh... Oh... What?"

"Koro. Maybe if you caress him you'll see that he's a good partner." Right. Surely.

Where was he anyways?

"No... Maybe tomorrow." I preferred what I had thought at first now...

"Koro, come here."

I realized that I was looking for him without noticing. I guess he really made a bad impression on me. At least she knows about her.

I saw the pup jumping onto her bed and cuddle with her. It was kind of cute... but...

Guess who's not going to sleep tonight...

"Hey, Tatsu." Ah damn it. I want to sleep you know!

I started to look into the ceiling, before agreeing to answer.

"What is it?" I can't even be mad. I'm too tired for that.

"Where are you from?" Well, I wasn't expecting that.

"Why do you ask?" I tried to find a comfortable position to sleep, but the bed felt too stiff. Everything is stiff.

"I want to know more about you." Gah!

"You are not... in love with me, right?"

"No. Why?" Well, at least that would explain why she was doing this, but better for me I guess.

"Because you are too kind with me..." I looked to the wall, to avert her glare. I shouldn't have said that.

"Didn't I tell you? You remind me of somebody." And that doesn't answer anything.

"That's... There are a lot of people in the Empire, and I am as generic as a book."

And one of those books where everything is solved whit friendship and rainbows. I wish it was that easy...

"Can't you give me a more straight answer?" I turned over again, trying to get into a more... serious position. You can't do much in a bed, you know!

"You don't remind me physically... your actions do. He helped people carelessly, even before becoming a captain. He also got into a lot of problems because of that..." A captain? Her father or something?

"Did that person... pass away?"

She didn't respond. If she was really acting, she was a professional actress. Did I really misjudge her? Did she really do it because of pure melancholy?

I felt my heart ache as I realized that I might have been wrong the whole time. But then... Why did I get those strange sensations around her?

"Sorry..."

As I tried to get some sleep, I could have sworn to hear the girl sobbing...

* * *

"Hey... Tatsumi... "

Yeah... I'm a dragon...

"Hey... Wake up..."

I'm fighting a giant machine... Waaa...

"Tatsumi..."

Take that... Oh no... It's going to fall in top of those civilians...!

"Are you alive? Tatsumi?"

Oh... I can't stop it...! Is that a rock in my stomach?!

"Justice Seeker? Are you breathing?"

"...Don't call me that..."

I opened my eyes, only to close them instantly. Why was the room so bright?

I don't know how much I slept, but my body feels sore. What time is it anyways?

"Put some clothes on..." It's not exactly a good time.

"Today I can't train with you, so it's all on you now." I opened slightly my eye to see that she had already her uniform on. Don't know if I'm glad or sad that it happened.

"Fine... What day is it?" I think it was Saturday...? It was definitely Saturday.

"Saturday. Don't get into trouble!" Yeah, Justice and all those things.

"Have a... nice day." Yes, I'm being a bit nicer. Because I'm a good person, and good persons do good things.

I heard the door close, and I got up slowly. I stretched myself a bit and grabbed my sword.

"Let's do this Ieyasu."

Today I'm going to do some marksmanship.

I don't know if that means handguns or automatic rifles... Or whatever.

I'll go to the training grounds again. Maybe nobody will pay attention to me.

"I'm hungry..." Saying your thoughts out loud won't really soothe your hunger.

And I have to stop talking with myself.

I don't really want to go that canteen ever again. Maybe I could buy something with the money I have left. I should have thought about it yesterday... Maybe I could buy some of those sweets that dad always brought. Those things were addictive! But only because I had them once a year or so...

Great, now I'm being homesick. You really want to give a hard time, eh?

"Oi! Boy!" I heard a manly voice calling me. Not really thinking about it, I turned around.

"Me?" I pointed to myself, even if I was the only one in the hallway.

The man was sweating like a pig, but from the looks of his attire, he looked like a courier more than anything.

"You are... Tatsumi, right?" I was a bit surprised at this. Do I really stand up so much...? Well, I guess he could look for the only person without an uniform.

"I am... Is something wrong?" The man caught his breath for a moment before grabbing a letter from the bag he was carrying.

"A letter from the Imperial Watch Captain. Please, read the letter before I finish explaining." The Imperial what?

"Ok..."

The letter looked simple, without any cool stamp or anything. I could have at least a penknife... Wait, why would I need one? It's just paper.

I opened it without too much resistance. The paper was rough, like sandpaper... Do I have to mention that this is my first letter ever? I thought it would be all fancy and rainbows. What a disappointment.

Let's see...

Blah, blah, blah... The duel confirmed for Monday is advanced towards Saturday.

"What."

"You finished? It appears that something came up, so it was decided that..." What?

"...Wouldn't it be more normal to delay it, not advance it?!" I'm not freaking out! Not happening!

"I... I don't make the choices. Well, I'll be leaving!" Ah, crap. Crap. Crap. Shit!

"I don't remember how to hold a bow!"

I quickly ran over towards Seryu's room. I needed to be prepared and for that...

As soon as I opened the door, I started to search for my travel bag. My father bought me leather armor, and even if it's not complete, I know that he will try to kill me. Not to mention that a bow hurts your wrist or something.

I put on gauntlets, shin guards and grabbed the idol that gave me the village elder. Good thing is, you can't see them and you don't lose speed. A cuirass would be all nice and all of that, but I'm not a crab. And with luck it will prevent some cuts...

Unless he cuts me in half.

* * *

The training grounds were silent, despite of the number of people that were around me. As I had thought, the dirt was wet from yesterday's rain. If it weren't for the people that were here, I would have started to laugh out of tension.

A bald man with a cape stood beside me. He appeared to be a captain too, but I couldn't decipher the rank from this angle.

I inspected again the handgun in my belt, and adjusted the sword in my back. I didn't know what to do besides checking my equipment. And I didn't even have breakfast.

At least that girl isn't here. It would ruin all the seriousness I have right now...

Some of the cadets in front of me started to get out of the way, and with my heart in my mouth, I saw the demon with one eye.

With a cocky smile he approached me, and stopped three meters from me. He planned this all along. Whispers started to fill my ears.

"Alright, calm down." The bald captain said. He was some kind of judge or something?

The whispers stopped almost immediately. They all had discipline... except me. That's going to suck in the future, isn't it?

"As stated in the Imperial Army, if you have strength, you can rule everyone weaker than you." The man's voice sounded tired, as if he had said this line a lot.

"Everybody can challenge, even a peasant, a captain of our great army. However, only if the captain sees worthy the challenge, can accept."

I was still very nervous. I know that I can beat him, but all the people around me make me nervous.

"Captain Ogre, you have the right to start this challenge with whatever discipline you want." With those words, the bald man stepped back.

"Let's get the boring ones out of the way." He said as he looked around him.

"Archery will be the first one." Damn it!

We headed towards the end of the training ground, where the targets were at. I remembered it from running all that time...

"I forfeit." I almost fell to the ground as I heard that.

Does that mean I win?! Great! I don't remember how to-

"Captain Ogre retires. That means that if the challenger manages to hit the target, he will win a point." I knew it was too easy...

He probably hasn't touch a bow in years, and just focused in building up his strength. That means he thinks he'll win with all the others... except firearms.

A nice young lady handed me over a bow almost as big as me, and with a quiver with three arrows. I left my sword in the ground and replaced it with the it.

Come on... I saw Sayo doing this billions of times.

What was more important, the eye or the hand?... I'll go with hand.

I grabbed the bow with my left arm, and felt some kind of déjà vu.

_"That's the first thing you do right in your first time!"_

"Sayo?" What the... I swear I just heard her voice...! No, isn't that what she said?

Yes! And then something about the position! I need to be in perpendi... perpendicular!

I stood right as I said. I grabbed the arrow with my right hand, and rested it in the bow.

Use three fingers...

"Aim..."

_"No you idiot! First you draw the string!" _

"Ah sorry!"

What the hell... I'm just talking to myself, right? Or maybe I'm more crazy than I thought. I bet the people behind me think I'm a mad man.

As I pulled the string back, I tried to aim carefully. Did it need more strength? Or should I control my breathing? I don't really know what I'm doing. In any case, I just need to hit the target.

Hoping that I aimed well, I released he string. I watched how the arrow flew a few meters, before losing strength and didn't even make it to the target.

"You missed the first shot? I thought you would put up a challenge." I heard the one eyed captain said behind me.

"You didn't even try..." I replied.

_"The wind, Tatsumi. Don't you remember what I said?" _

"Uh... Would you be mad if I said yes?"

I think I need to go to a mental hospital.

I grabbed again an arrow. I needed to add more strength, and check the wind...? Or control the wind... Or do dirty things to the wind. I don't know.

No... That's right. This is no different than using the sword. I'll just try to replicate the experience. It's like I feel lighter, so maybe do the same to the arrow? Or to the bow?

I draw the string again, as I tried to aim again. I aimed a bit more to the right and upper. This plus the added strength, should be enough.

"Come on Sayo..."

I released the string, and closed my eyes. I didn't want to see the turn out...

"Well, not too good, but not too bad. You passed." I heard the voice of the bald captain behind me. So, I passed... And I didn't even use my third arrow! That's like, good.

I saw how the arrow was stuck just at the second to last ring.

"I'm not going to touch a bow never again." I said as I removed the quiver from my back. I should have put it on my leg but anyways.

"I don't want to return here so... Let's do the marksmanship test." He's confident enough to just let this one go too?

"And... I forfeit again." Wow... He did. He is underestimating me, and he's going to pay for that. I just need to win three times, and he has already gave me two points.

And you might say; Tatsumi, you haven't gotten the second point yet. And for that I would say...

"Thirty meters, right? Too easy." I pulled my handgun as I aimed carefully.

"Wait a second, this is made for rifles, not pistols. A handgun is less precise than-" I heard baldy say.

"I know. This is a rare edition, you know?" It actually isn't. I think it's a handgun made in the west... But they stopped doing it for some reason.

The sound of the cannon that was already familiar for me, filled the training ground. Yet again, I had not gotten a bulls eye, but it was still a pretty good shot for that distance.

"Tatsumi the gunman strikes again..." I said as I put away my gun. Not even a lousy applause?

I turned away, to see that most of the crowd was looking at me expressionless. This is very awkward for me...!

"And now the moment everyone was waiting for..." Ogre said like an announcer.

So that was it. He wants to humiliate me, right? Build my hopes up by letting me win the two first and then crush me into oblivion. Now I want to see his face of shame as he cries in front of me... That was a bit creepy.

We moved over to the center of the training ground as all the spectators made a circle around us. So that's the reason they were all here. I bet somebody is making money out of this! Uh, that's illegal or I'm just justice thirsty?

"To think that you will have a sword fight with me... You should be proud." Ogre said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Whatever you say."

"Alright. As you know, we want to kill the enemy as fast as possible. We would want to strike them in the underarm, head and if it's a difficult enemy, the legs." The supervisor of the duel said. I need to know the name of the bald captain...

"Following this, we'll put parts of an armor in said places." So that's why I'm wearing this stupid metal scrap in my left leg, arm and head...

"To win, you must remove all the parts. The duel will begin in thirty seconds..." He said as he yawned loudly. Is Ogre really that good, or the think I'm just a kid?

Luckily, the circle was just enough for my extravagant movements. The added armor didn't bother me much, but the helmet made it hard to breath. I'll just overwhelm him with my speed and then-

"We checked the mansion as you said. Night Raid had indeed attacked it." He started to talk as he looked at me with his black eye. That means... Ieyasu!

"Then... What about the warehouse? What did you do to the bodies?!" Why am I getting this bad feeling?

"Ah, yes. The poor family couldn't even escape through the warehouse. Truly a shame." ...Poor family? Those people weren't a family! They were monsters!

The grip on my sword started to get tighter. I felt my rage building up inside me... How could he say that?!

"No. The bodies IN the warehouse. Where did you bury them?!" His smug smile make me want to puke.

"Bodies in the warehouse? There was nothing in there. Sadly, it was burnt down to crisp. I guess Night Raid just murdered another innocent family..." He said before letting a stupid laugh.

"Five, four, three..."

He burnt... Ieyasu's... and all of those poor people's... Corpses...?

"Two..."

He must be... He must be corrupted like all those insane monsters! I saw his ill intentions since the beginning, and I didn't do anything! Because of that... They won't rest in peace!

"One... Go!"

Moving with the wind, I had already moved the five meters that separated us. Even more than that, as the armor in his side fell to the ground with a blunt sound.

"How did he...!" Ogre hadn't even noticed as he looked at the metal chunk in the ground. I could even hear gasps in the crowd.

"People like you can't be judged on Earth..." I started saying.

I took two quick steps, and he swung his horizontally. I crouched, and raised my sword towards him. I stopped as I saw his smile. It's a trap!

He tried to use the memento of the sword to kick me, but I dodged it easily and let a silent laugh as he recovered. What is this feeling...

Ogre raised his sword enraged. He wasn't going to fool me. He might be stronger physically, but I have already won. Those corrupted devils... can't win against true justice! I'll make him pay, Ieyasu! What he did to you...

Dodging the sword would be easy, but I need to distract him.

I parried his swing with my own sword. However, as soon as they made contact, I tilted my grip, making his sword slide swiftly towards the ground.

Smoke raised from the dirt as his sword made a hole in the ground. Before losing a second, I punched him with the hilt, making his helmet fly into the air.

As more of his fury started to leak, he punched me unexpectedly in my stomach. I felt the air being drained from my lungs before being drawn out of the smoke.

Regaining my posture, I blocked a vertical strike that made me use all of my strength. I even had to grab the blunt side of the blade to stop him. He was strong, he surpassed my strength...

He had me pinned down... How could I escape...?

_"Come on, Tatsumi! I know you can do this! You always have a trick up your sleeve!" _Ieyasu?! How are you here..?!

Wait a second, up my sleeve?! That's it!

I was using both of my hands to match his strength, but if I weaken one my arms, it should unbalance him!

I did as I said, and jumped back. I got some distance between us. I need to think how to remove the armor in his leg...

"Ha... You think you are winning just because some lucky shot?! You can't beat the Great Ogre!" He can't keep his mouth shut, can he?!

I zigzagged without losing sight of him. Just before reaching his range, I jumped in the air.

That's right... Ieyasu is with me. I'm not alone! That's the reason that I'll eliminate... Trash like you!

He raised his sword to block my strike. However, I wasn't going to do that.

I threw my sword, passing throw his defense like butter. It struck the ground with force, shattering the bland piece of metal.

I landed in the ground as everyone around me watched in shock.

"Checkmate, Ogre. I win." I'll end this. I'll kill the son of a-

"You piece of shit!" Apparently Ogre was a sore loser, as he tried to strike me down.

I dodged swiftly and drew my handgun, pointing directly at his 'good' eye.

I could pull the trigger. It would be so easy... But I can't do that. I did it. I won, and now I can be in the Imperial Army. I can't let it down because of that... even if it felt good. Ieyasu wouldn't waste this opportunity! I'll deal with Ogre... In another moment.

"Tatsumi... was it? You win." A voice made warp back to reality. The fire that I had inside still raged on, but I needed to be in control.

"It's over. Everyone, return to your posts. There is nothing to see here."

Everyone was shocked. I could hear my name between the muttering, but I wasn't sure if they were praising me, or just talking about me.

Now that I think about it... Everyone heard the conversation I had with him. Maybe they figured it out?

"Follow me." The bald captain said, as we left a stunned captain Ogre with an immense killing intent. I could even feel daggers in my back. But rest assure, he won't get away with this. I promise, Ieyasu.

"Yes, sir." People in the army... say these things. I need to at least try.

We entered the barracks again, but this time we went to another zone. I had never been here, just because I didn't want to be caught. This part of the building was much cleaner than the other... Is it possible that this is a more important area?

After a few minutes, we entered a nice looking room. I could feel the wealthy influence in the air, as if this was an important office of some sorts.

The captain sat down in the desk.

"Sit down." His voice was much more calmer than before.

I sat down in the comfy chair. This is even more comfortable than Seryu's bed...! It's even stuffed! And even if it's a bit soft, the padding is relaxing. I could have a nice nap like this...

"I must admit, I didn't expect this. Those erratic movements... If you hadn't defeated Ogre, I would say you are a rookie who wants to get killed. Who was your master?" Was that a praise? Or is he saying I fight wrong?

"My master was... He was a retired soldier of the Army, sir. He trained me for two years before he left." I don't know his name. Did he even told me?

"Two years... How old were you?" He seems strangely interested in him.

"Uh... I don't know. It was about five or six years ago." The man rested his chin in his hand.

"I see... Maybe it is him after all..." Uh? What was that about?

Anyways, let's get to the point...

"Captain... So now did I... Did I join the Army?" I don't know how to talk!

"Not yet. You have surely the fighting abilities, but first you must answer some questions." He got into a more serious pose, crossing his arms.

"Why did you challenge a Captain? It's much more easier to enroll yourself in the registration posts. In fact, you can't even die like that." I guess it's fine to tell him. They won't hang me for saying my opinion. Uh...

"I want to protect the people of the Empire." I'm technically saying the truth." Oh, and I also want to get some money for my village." That was the primary objective after all.

"You know, you can do both things by joining regularly. There must be something else." He got me!

"Yes... Yes, but a person alone can't protect a whole nation. That's why if I become a captain, we can help much more people like that." I tried to match his glare, but I could feel the pressure in my back.

"I see. What do you think about the Empire?" He bought it?!

"...It could be better. I've been living in a village my whole life, so I just know what I've seen."

"Where are you from?" We're going too fast...?

"From the north. I would say... My village it's about 100 kilometers from Jelkala. Just by passing the mountains, there is a small valley between them. That's where I live."

Ah, crap! I should have lied about this one! But maybe he'd notice... I'll just need to be sure that I don't do anything wrong.

"Hm... That seems like a place where somebody could hide." What is he talking about?

"It seems that you have luck. One of the lieutenants died in an attack of Night Raid on a mansion. It seemed that he had some connections with them..." Why does he have to bring that up!

"Normally you would have to wait until a position opened up, but yeah..."

"Wait, do you mean I would have to wait years?! This seems rather convenient..." Maybe somebody is pulling the strings from behind!

Ha, no.

"Quite. By the way, you should address your superiors. It's the only useful thing you learn when you're a cadet."

He got up and started to look for something in a drawer.

"The weapons and armor is something you must buy. The empire only provides of uniforms or gives special weapons to Generals, sometimes even a Major. Although that one was... a special case. That woman must be a demon or something." A woman? She must be really strong to be way up there. I mean, Seryu is strong and she is still a- What is she? A police or something?

"The uniform for the Army is rather simple. As your rank will be lieutenant, you must always wear this emblem on your chest or jacket. It represents your status." He gave a small insignia with some symbols on it. I could only tell that this meant that I was something.

"You are in charge of three platoons. You will only respond to me or to other superiors. I'm Captain Ekai, so if you're in trouble ask for me. I should probably mention that you are in the third armed forces of the Empire, in charge of General Lehen." It's happening so fast...!

"Captain, are you sure... this is alright? I just came in here by force." I couldn't help but feel that this was too easy...

"Now you think of that? Ah, I know. You were the one who beat up those recruits? It's normal. But if you think that ranking up it's going to be easy, look at me. I've been trying years to get a promotion." He knew about that?! Is he trying to encourage me, or depress me?

"Well. I have things to do. Let's get your uniform and you'll meet the soldiers you're in charge of."

I'm in charge of people... I don't have any leadership skills! This is going to be bad... I should have think of something!

We left the office, and I followed him through the corridors. Even if I was nervous, I was thinking of how to kill Ogre... After the whole spectacle I made, maybe he is going to augment his security. That would be bad...

Doing it this night would be very suspicious... Maybe I should wait some weeks after things cool down a bit. After all, I'm not an assassin. I'm not sneaky and I don't know how to kill stealthily. Not to mention he knows my face.

What's this odd feeling I'm sensing...

"TATSUMIII!" Oh god... Is it a bird? Is it a plane? NO! It's Justice Girl!

She suddenly appeared in front of us as Koro followed her peacefully. I noticed something very familiar in her arms.

"That is..." My only white coat! And it doesn't have blood...

She appeared to be very excited, even more than me. I have some mixed emotions inside of me right now... It's not like I'm not happy, I just can't express it.

"Yes! It's even cleaner than before. I couldn't see the duel unfortunately..." Now she's sad again. Tsk... I'll say something.

"It was just me being awesome. I'm kind of busy now so..." I tried to end the conversation quickly but...

"You are the teigu user... Could we have a talk for a minute?" The captain said behind me.

What does he want with Seryu?

"Tatsumi, keep going towards the door labeled as C. You will meet your section there. And for the love of god, wear something more appropriate." What's wrong with my clothes?!

As I tried to leave, Seryu gave me my white coat.

"Can you meet me in... thirty minutes? I'll be in my room! So make sure to put the insignia on it! Have fun!" She greeted me with a smile and waved her hand.

Why is she so nice with me...

Never mind that, he said room C? This room to my right is N... I guess I'll keep going forward.

These rooms looked like a carbon copy of the other side of the building, only that it has letters.

I guess the empire wasn't as rich as I thought, copying everything. I'm sure the majority of the money is distributed between those nobles and merchants... Well, merchants can buy nobility titles, so it's only them.

I'm thinking about those things again... I guess I calmed down a bit...

Oh... I've just realized... I'm a lieutenant! But first I need to put this emblem here in my coat. That's it.

As I put my coat on, I started to feel differently. This feeling of authority...

I can do things now! I can help much more people! I'll use this authority to beat the corruption. But I can't leave my training aside. The captain said that one of the general's is like a demon. I don't know what that means, but it creeps me out. I've been training for a lot of years, and I'm not going to stop.

I'll meet the... Sergeants? And with a bit of luck, they are good people. Maybe they're mad at me because I just appeared out of nowhere.

I can't think about this now.

As I reached the door, I didn't feel nervous. I wasted all of that before it seems. Nothing bad is going to happen, because I'll beat them up. In the worst of cases of course.

"Here goes nothing..."

I opened the door.

Out of the three persons that were there, a bulky guy covered in armor caught my eye. The only openings I could see where in the helmet, where I could barely see two dark eyes. I would say he was death if it wasn't for the small noise that made the grille in his helmet. I don't even know if he is a man or a woman.

Presentation! How do I say that?!

"Oh god... You are Tatsumi?!" A man slighter older than me said.

He had spiky black hair, the same height as me... Maybe I was a bit taller. He had a two handed sword in his back, and had a darker uniform than the rest of the soldiers I had seen. He also seemed incredibly hyperactive... I don't know if I can mesh those words...

"Sergeant Eguz at your service! I'm a great fan!" He did the military salute, as I tried to hide the fact that I stretched my arm.

"Ah... That's nice to know." I replicated his salute, trying to not be too ignorant about all this...

The sound of the armor moving made me cringe a little. I saw how the bulky man raised his hand to salute.

"Sergeant Lura at your service." The low voice fitted perfectly with his body build. He was a living talk by all means.

I greeted him the same way. He seemed much more serious than Eguz.

"Nice to meet you." I hope I'm not being very awkward.

I turned around towards a blond guy. He looked like he was in his mid twenties, and of course, he was taller than me. He had a regular uniform and I could see a sword and a shield in his back. At least he seemed like a good person.

"Oh, this is Sergeant Haize. He's kind of... mute." Oh...

"I see... Nice to meet you." How is somebody like him in the army? I think you must be in a healthy situation to enter, right?

As everyone presented themselves, I realized that this room was pretty empty. There was a table in the middle with some chairs, and nothing much.

"Well... I'm Lieutenant Tatsumi. I don't really know much the capital, but I hope that you treat me well. Ah... I want to do as much as I can to help people, so I want to know your motivations if it's not too personal." That went better than expected. They seem a bit weird, but nothing I can't handle.

"My motivation was... to have a harem!" Eguz said with pride. I don't know how to pronounce his name...

"That's unders- Wait a second, that's bad! Why would you want so many girls?!" I haven't even think of that many...!

"Hum... To have variety? I mean, I only want five or six girls..." Don't treat them like objects! And what do you mean only?!

"At least it hasn't worked, right?" He just made a silly face.

"Not really... That's why I want to rank up a bit. At least is better than Haize." Oh god... What did he want?!

"I think you have the same motivation as him... He even was a captain a few years ago." He was?

"The thing was... He thought that he could enter anybody's house. He then proceeded to break every vase on the house, saying that they were filled with money. He kept saying that so they got his tongue cut and he ended up here."

"Why... How... You haven't done that again, right?!" I told the blond soldier.

He vigorously shook his head.

"He was high or something... And then we have Lura. He's very normal, but... he is very devout to his religion. Sometimes it gets in the way of some missions and that's the whole reason he isn't a coronel right now." I see. That's not bad at all.

"I don't mind if you pray." I mostly said it because I was afraid he would beat me up. But he seemed really peaceful.

"He does it in the most inconvenient situations... Like right in front of a fire. That was an epic fail." Do all these soldiers lack of common sense?! I retract my previous comment! Everyone is crazy!

"I... I see. Then I guess I'll get going." I just want to... clean my thoughts.

"Wait for a second please." I heard Eguz say. I need to be nice to them... I guess.

"What is it, Egu?" Yeah, that's his nickname. I decide it right now.

"Could you... train us? You are the best fighter we've ever seen! Could you spare some time?" He pleaded. Don't make puppy eyes. That doesn't work with me. Except with Seryu. And Sayo.

Agh... I can't say no. But I need to meet with Seryu too...

"Sure, wait for me in the training grounds. I have to meet with somebody."

We left the room, as everybody followed me. I feel very strange... But I guess I'll get used to it. I noticed that Lura was nowhere to be found.

"Em... Is Justice Girl your sister?" Egu said behind me.

"Oh god no. She's just... somebody I met." She wasn't my friend, even if I don't count all my prejudice. It's a strange relationship. "Could you... tell me more about her?"

"Eh? I don't think you would want to date that girl. Hell, I'm surprised that dog hasn't chewed you yet!" Come again?

"I don't want to date her! What do you mean by that last part?" Was she really acting all this time?!

"She must have a mental problem or something. If you break the law in front of her, you can consider yourself a goner." He said it like it was common knowledge... And yet I feel my sweat became cold just now.

"If I break the law? Like... steal a wallet or something?"

"Well... I heard that since she got that dog, she kills a lot of criminals. Even petty crime sometimes. Although I have to admit she has saved some people... But I don't think she is mentally stable since he lost his father. It was Major Ubiquitous, right?"

I guess that explains a lot... She lost her father and she mentally snapped and went on in a justice rampage. I don't say that's bad, but you must only kill monsters! Like that family... Not just some random criminal! Those must be judged normally or just sent to prison.

"Thanks... You are already helping me. Let's just forget that we talked about this. It's an order."

"Uh, my first order from you! And an easy one."

So he is my fan. That makes me feel great. I just need Sayo appearing in front of-

"Egu, is there some kind of search list in the Capital?" If I find Sayo, I will be happy. That's the only thing I'm asking!

"Ta-tsu-mi!" I saw Seryu in front of me in a blink of an eye.

I must say, after all the things he said. I'm scared of breaking the law. I haven't broken the law since... three days.

"Are you happy? You are in the Imperial Army!" She started to caress my hair. She really is acting like my sister!

"Yep. What was the thing you wanted to talk about?" I said as I removed her hand from my head. Bad Seryu. Bad!

"Ah, nothing. You can forget about that. Instead! Guess who has to look over you! Apparently you're a threat to Ogre's security! I told them that you couldn't hurt an innocent person! But they didn't listen..." Innocent...? How can she... Wait, calm down. She probably doesn't know what he did. Just breath and exhale.

"We can do that, you know." Egu said as he stood beside me. Why does he say that suddenly? He just told me she is a psycho!

"Who are you again?" I felt how the aura around her changed dramatically. "Hey, Koro. Isn't he the one who was involved in a bar brawl? That's against th-" Judging by the sergeant's reaction, she was right.

I don't know if what he told me is true, however, nothing good will happen if I just let this happen in front of me.

"Hey, Seryu-chan, how about we talk this night? I bet you want to know all about this morning." I even added 'chan' right there! Melt the heart!

"But he broke a chair! He must be punished." Seriously. A chair?

"Don't worry about that. I'll punish him for you." This is sounding too cheesy...

"Okay maggots, let's go. Have a nice day Seryu..."

As I left the corridors, I sighed relieved. I guess that even if she might not be trying to kill me, I still feel very uneasy around her. But if what he told me is true, then I'll have to talk with her. No more mister nice guy for her.

* * *

After all, it had been a pretty busy day. I trained a bit with my underlings... I wanted to use that word. Turns out I had more trouble with them than with Ogre, but it probably was just me thinking in another things...

It's strange for me to say, but I feel like I want a challenge. The scary thing is that my master told me this would happen. When you become stronger you start to seek out more challenges, and when there aren't any more around, you start to lose your mind.

But now, I just train to be able to protect my ideals and even then... Why am I having those thoughts? I don't want to become a monster myself.

Maybe with one of those cool Teigus I would be able to do something without even moving. Like a dragon arm Teigu, or just a fancy sword that shoots laser beams. Those things would be nice...

So right now I'm waiting for Seryu to come back. I'm not alone in the main entrance, but nobody really wants to talk to me. They're just jealous they don't have a coat.

After this, I have decided to stalk a bit Ogre. You know, for cleaning purposes.

"Where is this girl... I want to sleep..."

I finally did something good today. Tomorrow I'll start to help people... and think of a way to have a promotion! I need about... six more. And I skipped like three. Not bad.

It's possible that I'll have to hunt down Night Raid... They have done a great dead killing those monsters. And I guess I owe them that. Even if they were there by coincidence, Akame didn't kill me. That was her name, I think...

"Red eyes..." Part of me wanted to meet her, and the other part tells me to run the hell away from her.

This is obviously Sayo's fault. Why did she have to be the only girl I've met of my age?! Now I'm going wild with all this new people...

Ehem... Seryu's late...

"I guess I'll return to th- GAH!"

"Why are you yelling?!" Where the hell did she come from?!

"Seryu...?! Since when have you been there?!" This is just plain creepy! Was she following me all the time?

"Um... Since we last met." ...WHAT? "I have to look over you all the time."

"I thought you were going to check on me every night or something, not stalk me all the time!" Isn't this... Isn't she breaking the law with this?! What the hell!

"Ah... That's your fault for understanding it wrong. Besides, I thought you would be happy to not see me around..." Why is she doing all those cute faces?!

Ah no. I'm not falling for that again. Good act, but this time I'm taking the offensive.

"If you stopped being so suspicious, perhaps I would be more happy around you. Not only that, but have you really being killing persons without judging them? Death is always the last..."

"They were guilty." That statement just made me facepalm so hard...

"So what? Stealing a piece of bread doesn't deserve the death penalty! Who taught you those things?"

I started to get more serious, and so did she. I'm just trying to knock sense into you...

"I did! If I know they are guilty, why do I need more evidence? The Capt. also supported me with that!" How does she not realize this insanity?!

"Captain... You mean captain Ogre? Did he filled you wit his twisted thinking too?" I wouldn't really push aside that probability. It's not like he'll live a lot more.

"Why do you say that?! Ogre is a really nice man! Besides, I already thought like that!" Her voice was starting to get loud...

'Ogre' and 'nice' didn't compute in the same phrase. And for some reason that made me mad.

"Nice man?! A nice man wouldn't burn a building filled with innocent people and throw them into a mass grave! Ieyasu... He didn't deserve to end like this!" How stubborn and stupid can she be to not understand?!

"He wouldn't! If he did... then all those people deserved to burn in hell!"

I felt how the blood rushed towards my face in the same moment she let out those words. Suddenly I lost my sight of the world completely and just followed the flow. Instinct imposed my common sense for a second, and my body moved alone.

As I soon as regained my senses, I realized that I had slapped her with all my might. I didn't feel bad for it. She deserved it, but I feared the consequences.

However, she was more in shock than angry. I did just hit her...

"Lt. Tatsumi! There... There has been a murder!" I didn't recognize the voice, but as he did the salute I realized that he was in my section.

"A murder? Who is the victim?" He took a deep breath to regain his composure.

"We have confirmed that Captain Ogre is the victim."

Well, isn't this a nice example of karma.

"We think that Night Raid was the murderer."

And I just need to meet them in person and hug them! I guess this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship between two-

"Impossible... He can't be dead! HE CAN'T!" Seryu left the building at great speed, not even looking back.

I can't help but feel a bit bad for her. Just a bit.

But in the bright side... Night Raid just did me a nice favor! Man, I should just give up and join them! But after all the work, it wouldn't feel good.

"...You are smiling too much." The soldier at my side said.

"It's normal. Don't you feel it? The winds of change are coming..."

And it has the name of Tatsumi printed in the front.

* * *

**Uf... That took way more than it should. And next chapter things start to happen! And I repeat, the soldiers under Tatsumi's command won't be really important. Until... way later.**

**By the way, this is Tatsumi's point of view. So he may be right in somethings, but he obviously can be wrong.**

**I'm not a Seryu fan, so I don't know why she is so much in this story. I guess part of me just thinks she just was having a rough life... UNTIL SHE FUCKING MADE KORO EAT CHELSEA. WTF?!**

**Sad thing, I have to cut down a lot of what I had planned. The duel with Ogre was supposed to happen in TWO chapters. And the last half was supposed to happen in three, so think about it.**

**And why I'm cutting stuff? I'm not doing it because of Esdese... Seriously. I just want to get rid of the boring stuff, and have Tatsumi's character develop a bit until... SPOILER. **

**If somebody is wondering... all the names of the soldiers I made up, are words in my language but just without a letter in them. I was very lazy with that.**

**This is the last chapter of the year, and I can't really answer to your reviews this time. But thanks for all the support and tips!**

**Next chapter will have... some of the backstory Tatsumi needs... Tatsumi being and idiot... A madman cutting heads and... a tsundere.**

**I don't really have much to say. Thanks for everything! **

**Have a nice holidays and a happy new year!**


	4. Three Broken Minds

**Short chapterino ahead. Just setting all the pieces in the right place...**

**And somebody got the Mount&amp;Blade reference! Yaaaay!**

* * *

"Sayo wait a second! I want my swooord!"

"I'm not giving it! You left it for me!"

The middle of the village wasn't really a square, but it was were most villagers gathered around for the council. There, they discussed pretty much everything and tried to solve every problem. Like it was a small village, normally there wasn't a lot to talk about... except this time.

Even then, it was pretty boring stuff for a child.

"Something has scared all the animals in the north forest. I haven't seen any danger beast, and I think we have a problem with a group of illegal hunters." A veteran hunter said.

"I see... we can't let our forest to be taken away. However, we aren't soldiers." The elder said. "Maybe we could hire some mercenaries or just call for the army to scare them away."

"The army won't care about out little village. I think it's much better to hire somebody." Tatsumi's father said.

"That might be true. Then...Does everyone agree to hire mercenaries?"

Everybody said yes. That was the final act of the council, and everyone started to go back to their home. Between everybody, three friends started to play around... Until the elder approached them.

"Tatsumi, Sayo and Ieyasu. Please don't leave the village until this problem is solved. I know what you three are thinking." The three of them had been discovered in less than a minute. He really deserved to be the elder of the village.

"We weren't going to do anything! We were going to... built a fort! Isn't that right, Tatsumi?" Ieyasu said without trying to smile.

"That's it! A fort... made of... sticks!" Tatsumi said, much less confident than his friend.

"Very fun. If you want to be play as knights, why don't you do a task for me?" The elder said with a gentle smile.

"I think a rat entered the food storage of the town. Perhaps you three could take care of it."

The group of friends made a circle and started to discuss it, whispering.

"Hm... I don't like rats over my food." Ieyasu said.

"But maybe it's a dangerous creature..." Sayo replied.

"Then... I'll enter. Ieyasu can cover the door if it tries to escape and Sayo will stay behind if it attacks or something." Tatsumi already set up a plan, even without everyone agreeing.

"H-Hey, I want to do something too! I'll go with you." She instantly answered.

"But that's... fine. Just because you returned the sword."

After gathering in front of the storage warehouse, Tatsumi and Sayo went down the steps.

"Maybe it's the creature that was inside of that crate..." He muttered as he went down to the basement.

"I didn't know it was this big... Why didn't you bring a lamp?!" Sayo bickered behind him.

"Because... I'm already bringing a sword."

"You only use one hand for that! You could have at least thought about it..."

Tatsumi didn't reply, but he thought about using another weapon for his left hand... maybe he should dual wield.

The storage was divided in two sections. One was lighted, and the other one was filled with darkness.

"Sayo, go to the one with light. I'll go to this one." He was already heading for the gloomy section without letting he reply.

It was a really spooky place. He could hear his own heartbeats, and the sound of his breathing was the only thing that filled the place. He suddenly felt stupid for going alone.

Maybe he should go back. Yeah... that was the best option.

As he turned around, he felt something pressing against his back. It felt like it was something circular like... a gun.

"D-Don't move!" The voice of a girl made him realize that it wasn't some kind of prank.

"Em... That's a gun against my back, isn't it?"

"Shut up! I'll shoot you!" The voice of the girl sounded more frightened than threatening.

"Y-You... You don't want to that! Because... in the end, you wouldn't shoot a guy with glasses, would you?!"

"What are you talking about?! You don't have glasses!"

What looked more like a boy into insanity, it was in fact a way to cry out for help. Maybe it worked... or not.

"I don't know. So... Is pink your favorite color?" He didn't what to talk about until she got here. He couldn't even how she looked like.

"I'm in a very important mission, so do-"

Her voice was cut off by the sound of wood breaking something. He then heard how something dropped to the ground like a sack.

"Sayo! I owe you one and- Woah! Pink is her favorite color." He casually mentioned as he looked at her pink hair.

"Oh my god... I killed her!" Sayo yelled with a voice full of sorrow.

Tatsumi looked at his attacker and pressed his fingers against her neck. He felt that her heart was still going at full speed.

"I think she's alive..."

* * *

These random flashbacks are giving me a headache. Couldn't I have them while sleeping or something? It's like someone is going out of his way to make me suffer. But now that I think of it... I think it was that same day...

"Lieutenant, we've finished!"

I have been doing the same training exercises as always, but this time I decided to do it with my whole squad. A good morning workout it's the best way to wake up, and after a whole week doing this, they don't even complain. Besides, I don't want to really slack off my training... even if nobody teaches me anything. That can't make a big difference.

"Good job! Now, relax five minutes and we'll start the patrol." I said trying to sound as friendly as possible. They don't seem to hate me. In fact I think they are rather happy with me. Unless they're faking it, which isn't exactly farfetched.

The only person I think hates me... It's Seryu. And she's been acting in a creepy way. I mean, I don't see her for hours and then she just watches me in the distance. I don't know what the hell she wants, but I'm lucky that I don't sleep in her room anymore...

Maybe I overreacted with her. It's not like I wanted to hit her, and I even feel bad about it. But I don't think I need to apologize for anything. It was her fault, not mine.

Bad thing is, I can't sleep anymore. Properly, I mean.

I don't even know in which squadron she's in. It's like she is her own boss. Maybe having a Teigu makes you more special than I think.

"I'll get going..." They had already their orders, so I'll go find clues. Sayo must be here somewhere. She must.

* * *

Being a Lieutenant was pretty neat. Unless a captain interferes, I can pretty much explore as much as I want. No wonder they get corrupted so easily. They get so much liberties than you start to think you are different than them. Us. Different than us.

A couple of soldiers passed by my side with an accusing glare.

That's right... Ogre's subordinates are still trying to find his murderer. He must have acted like he was a good person... Yes, that's it. He just tricked them all, nothing else. I can't be wrong...

I can't get distracted anyways. Sayo can't be dead, so she must be looking for me. But with so many people in this place, I won't find her. If I had more people looking for her, maybe it would make more sense.

Agh, I can't get over sentimental with this. I'll find her, whatever it takes. Ieyasu will help me...

Hm... Where am I? Seriously, I don't think I've been here. That's for thinking too much in my own stuff!

Maybe I was following all this people. Where are they going anyways? They all look like they have seen a-

"What the...!"

The scene was like one out of a horror book. A bunch of people were being crucified, and being shown like they were just a bunch of dolls! Why are they doing this?! They look already dead so why...!

Fear... That's what I saw in those people faces. This is to represent what will happen to those who rebel? To those who want a better future?! This is... what will happen to me? Even then...

I'll stop this nonsense!

I made my way up the platform, looking at all the soldier's rank. I should be the highest rank here.

"What are you...! Lieutenant?!" The soldier stiffened as soon as he saw my rank. He wasn't surprised at my rank, more like at who I was. The fact that I had beaten up Ogre was already a known fact in the army.

"Good morning. Now get those persons out of here." It seemed like my voice was the only thing that was in the street.

"B-But sir, these orders are straight from HQ!" We have headquarters?

"I see, I see. But these orders came from me, so unless I have to beat some sense into all of you, then you'll do as I say." Even if it looked like I had control, I was doing straight down insubordination. I was probably going to die because of this.

"Y-Yes, sir." I sighed with relieve. Everything went better than expecte-

"What?" Why was all the people looking at me?! I don't like being watch by so many, you know?!

"Um... Nothing to see here? Come on, keep doing whatever you were doing."

It felt so unnatural to be the center of attention. What was so wrong of doing what I did? Even if they were bad people, they don't deserve that kind of treatment after dying. That's what I think. They are already dead.

Little by little the people started to disperse and I started to go down the platform. I don't want to be caught so easily. They won't kill me right away... Then again, they have been doing bad things already, so I'll just pray to... somebody.

I took a look to all the townsfolk that gathered there. They didn't look wealthy, but neither poor. They all looked pretty shocked, but I assumed nobody would want to interact with me. Maybe Sayo is in here?

Let's see...there aren't a lot of girls. They are already leaving the place so if they don't have pink hair like that on-

"Pinky?!" The hell? I thought this was supposed to make sense! Why is she here?

"..." Hey now, this is awkward. Nobody would wear pink hair and twin tails. Not to mention all that pink... It must be her, right?

"Pinky girl, it must be you right?" Don't walk away like that, you pointed a gun to my head!

"I don't talk to dead people." Ouch.

She didn't even look at me. She was the one who ran away, I should be the one who is mad!

"Fine. At least accept a present from a dead person."

Drawing a handgun in front of a street wasn't a very good idea, but it's not like I'm going to do that. Unless she starts to walk away again! This girl...

"You left that handgun when you left. I thought you would want to have it."

As soon as those words reached her ear, they left by the other.

"I don't want it." She managed to say those emotionless. She really changed since that day... It's not like I didn't.

"Then you joined those people, pinky?" Hm... I don't recall being a bad person to her. In fact, it was happy Tatsumi back then, so what have I done to be treated like this?

"Don't call me pinky! I hate it!" Why is she flustered like that?!

"Don't ignore me then! You were the one who didn't say your name!" What's wrong with her? It's not like I betrayed or something.

"Because I wasn't going to see you again!" She was going to kill me?

"I accompanied you to that creepy cave, not like...!" Ieyasu...

"So what? Leave me alone." Her cold voice only made me feel even more helpless.

"...Your uniform is going to get yourself killed." Uh? What does that mean?

She was the first person I recognized in the capital, but she is ignoring me. Not knowing why she is doing this makes me feel... bad. It's not like we knew each other a lot but I have... I have... What?

Something... I've forgotten something? It's very frustrating to forget something that you know it happened. But my memory it's not that bad, the only thing I've forgotten was that incident. And it was because of... because it was traumatizing?

You know what? I don't care. It's not like we were friends or anything. I just wanted to return the handgun and she doesn't want it. I don't even know her name. Besides, how can she walk? I clearly remember that... Agh, stupid brain.

"I don't want to remember it anyways." I said as we walked away from each other.

Whatever. I've been dreaming or remembering randomly parts of that day, and I don't want to anymore. It was better that she ignored me. Besides, nobody likes pink.

...I'll keep trying to find Sayo. With a bit of luck maybe I'll live another day.

* * *

The sun was setting, but I didn't feel like returning. It was starting to get cold, and the people started to return to their respective homes. At times like these, I feel like everything I'm doing is stupid, and it probably is.

Trying to rebel against the empire? Yeah sure. I can't do it alone. I knew it wouldn't be easy, but to feel this solitude... It hurts.

I want to be with Sayo. I want to spar with Ieyasu. Why is everything like this?

Am I still naive? Is that why everything is happening? Maybe I'm just very driven by emotions.

But when I didn't follow my emotions, I supposed that Seryu was going to kill me. But then, what do I do? Nobody is going to help me. I don't have anyone to trust or to teach me new things. Nothing at all.

"Justice Seeker! What the hell are you doing out here!" Oh, goodie! Now Seryu is here. How long has she been following me for...?

"I don't know." I must say, I don't really know how to talk to her anymore. So I'll just back away and leave slowly.

"You are going to die." She said it with such a straight face that I had trouble trying to not laugh. But it was obvious that she was serious.

"Oh... I see. I guess I'll take my leave and..."

Eh...? This is weird. Why am I not moving? Legs?

"Why does everyone die...?" Come again? Life is like that. You live and then you stop. Forever.

Her eyes seemed lost in the distance. The brightness that her eyes had a week ago had never return. I felt bad for her, but right now she wasn't herself. What is she talking about...?

"Koro can't die so easily, but you are just a human." She said as she hugged herself. It isn't so cold...

But, what do you mean 'just' a human. She's saying it like she isn't one. I mean, she isn't exactly the definition of a human but still.

"Why are you so weak...!"

She started to look in pain as she brought her hands to her head. This looks serious...

"S-Seryu!" She fell to her knees muttering something. Out of instinct, I quickly approached her.

I grabbed her by the shoulders, as I noticed that she was shivering. Not only that but it seemed that all the blood had disappeared from her face, as if she had seen a ghost.

I used my hand to measured her temperature.

"You're burning up! When was the last time you slept...?!" I said while looking at her soggy eyes.

"..." She is speaking gibberish. What in the world...?

"Come on, I'll bring you back..." I said as I tried to lift her up. However, she refused.

"...You won't leave me, isn't that right?! I'll do whatever it takes! Justice... You love it!" She grabbed my collar as she said those random things. I actually pissed my pants a little.

"I don't... I don't understand. What are you talking about...?"

It seemed like my words shattered all the sanity she had left. The girl that had saved me from certain death was a long, distant memory in my head. The death of Ogre had affected way too much to be truth. I even felt worse as I saw that somebody was in more despair than me, and I felt... conflicted.

Ogre must have been a very important person for her... But he was a very corrupted human! Why? Why does she feel like this? I don't understand! Everybody should be happy about it, right? Then why is she crying? Why?! Am I missing something?! I can't be wrong! Damn! Fuck!

Okay... gain a hold on yourself Tatsumi.

Throwing salt in the wound won't help... But if Sayo had also died back then... would I be like this? She had nobody to rely on, just like me. Not only that, but I was the one who ignored her. If I had people around me, I would recover faster. I could have fixed her, and I just shattered her in more pieces, huh...

"Moon... Night Raid will attack... I'll do it for you." She clumsily got up and started to walk away, Koro following shortly behind.

"Hey! Don't lea- Agh, she left."

I'm not wrong. Ogre must have lied to her, just that. People like him must be eradicated. Then again...

"I'm really going to die...?"

* * *

Two hours have passed, and I feel how my life is coming to an end. After returning from that encounter, a man told me that I had a "Special" mission that only the ones like me could accomplish.

In other words, they told me to die. Why you ask? Well, I'll have to inform you that somebody has been beheading people without a care in the world.

You know the best? I must do it alone without any help or I'll have very bad consequences.

I hadn't thought of all this, of course. But my fellow soldiers told me. They don't seem very affected. I mean, I have been just a week with them. It's not like we had a deep bond or something. I guess nobody will really care if I die... Well, I guess Seryu would suffer a stroke.

And Sayo... I don't know if she's alive. She would have reached the capital by now... But I can't think of that. If I stop this serial killer, I would get a bit of renown. If she doesn't appear by then I'll...

"Why the serious face Lt? You are more than enough to stop a random murderer!" Egu said as he patted myself in the back.

"Nothing. I was thinking that I'll make gathering to tell everyone that I've dealt with the murderer." That will be my last resort to find her.

"Seriously? Well, I heard that the rebellion in the north was destroyed. Didn't even put a fight. So before those veterans come, you should do that." I don't even know why I'm surprised at hearing this. The Empire has been able to live a thousand years so...

"Why? Are they too... loyal to the Empire?" I guess my acts would count as 'rebellious' by their beliefs. Wouldn't want to piss off some experienced soldiers. That is, if I survive.

"Eh... I guess you could say that. They just like fighting. Or boobs. Either way, don't talk to them. Last time they were here they totally stole my seat and then..." I'm lost right now.

"Whatever. I need to gather information about that serial killer so... dismissed." I totally wanted to say dismissed. I feel like a professional right now.

"But sir... it's night time-"

"Don't tell me, he attacks at night? Unbelievable. I'm just going to-" Oh crappy crap. I just remembered that-

"Where the hell is Seryu?" I felt a faint pressure in my heart.

I'm worried about her? Seriously? After all that she said, I don't know why I'm feeling like this. It's just because my good nature or I'm feeling related to her because all that has happ-

"She's right there. But don't make another scene, please." He pointed to his right.

I'm sure I was making a very stupid face, but I couldn't help but to feel confused. I saw her running the other way, how did she catch up to me? Even with all the time I've been waiting, she shouldn't be sitting by the wall playing with that damned dog!

As I started to walk over to her, she got up with monotone movements. She was annoyed by something, but she wasn't like before. Even then, why is she in the ground? In this zone of the barracks there's literally a bench every ten steps.

"How did you... Why are you... Are you okay?" Those first two questions aren't really good. In any case, it seemed that my random question had surprised her.

"I'm fine. Do you talk to me now?" You don't need to say it so harshly. I made the effort to come here, you know?

"We... We talked before, when you were a bit... unstable?" How do you describe that?

She looked at me with skepticism, like I was trying to sell her the moon.

"When? We haven't talked for a long time." Is she negating whatever happened, or does she really not know? She wasn't really sane at that moment so... Do I roll with it or should I keep pushing?

"I see... Hey, Koro. You know what I'm talking about. Can you answer?" The doggy looked at me as he nodded and moved his little arms.

"Koro doesn't know." The moment she said that, he started to shook his head. I guess she just doesn't want to talk about it.

"Really? Then, is your fever fine now?" It's just concern. I don't want my stalker to not show up tomorrow.

"Fever? What fever?" Stop messing around...

I moved my hand to her forefront, to measure her temperature. Hm... She seems about the same as me. Maybe I'm with a fever too, or I failed the first time.

"Never mind then... Hey, are you still there?" Why is she looking at the ground like that. I just touched her forefront, not caressed her body! She has double personality or what?!

Now I just imagined that. Stop it! None of that!

"I'll get going. And sleep some more, you look like a zombie." I told her before returning.

That wasn't very nice of me, but an eye for an eye. Well, I did hit her. Maybe I went a bit far... Anyways, what's done it's done.

"Lieutenant, can I ask a question?" I forgot that Egu was watching me in the distance. I'm starting to get annoyed with him.

"Sure. But a yes or no question."

"Do you have a ponytail fetish?"

"Eh? No... Maybe twinta- What kind of question is that?! Dismissed! Get the hell out of here!"

* * *

After a fruitless night, I managed to sleep... three hours. That's better than a fly. And now I'm heading towards another crime scene. Somebody else died today.

Even then, I was thinking of what I was going to do. Not that I was really concerned of dying, but I was worried that it can take me a decade to even reach a high position. What could I do? If I'm faced against death every time, I'll be overwhelmed someday. There MUST be something that I can do.

But the only thing that occurred to me is to obtain Teigus. And I'm very sure I can't take anyone. Murasame? Hell no. Doggie plushy? I don't want to see it again. Uh... I don't know anymore, but maybe there is a stupid one somewhere. The black sheep of the flock. Like a Teigu that makes you dance or sing well. There must be something like that.

"And that's everything about it. Only cuts off the head. The good thing is that we know who he is." Wait what? I was so busy thinking my own stuff, that I forgot that somebody was telling me all the details!

"That's good! Who is it?" The soldier in front of me melted like he had seen a ghost.

"...Zank the Executioner." And that is? I'm supposed to know him?

"Ah, shit. The one who stole a teigu?" A random soldier said.

Wait a second...

"Teigu? What teigu?" I suddenly asked. If I can get this... I definitely will still have a chance to find you!

"Sorry, we don't know. The characteristics of most teigus are classified..." I sighed disappointed. I don't want to there without knowing anything. If I find him obviously.

Hm... Nea's father is an info seeker. Maybe... just maybe...

"This is enough. Do... Those things that have to be done in murder scenes." I hope they know, because I don't have a clue.

Now then, I have to exchange information.

* * *

The cold breeze of the night whispered softly into Seryu's ears. She had been following Tatsumi for only one week, but she already knew the routine he followed every night.

He usually walked around the barracks, as if he was thinking or waiting for someone. At first, it was obviously suspicious. But as he finished walking for exactly one hour, he sat in a bench and just looked at the starless night of the capital.

That particular moment reminded her of the times when she has sleepless nights waiting for her father to return.

That's exactly the whole reason she was surprised when she saw him take a different path. The sad gaze he had those nights was completely gone, replaced with a strong determined look.

Had he found something to do? At least, that was the only time when she could forget all her sorrows, if only temporarily.

She followed him without making too much noise. She wasn't a snake but she could hide her presence very well. Tatsumi always looked surprised when she sees her, so she must be doing a good job. That or he was a very good actor.

After half an hour of going from alley to alley following him, he stopped in the middle of the street and pulled out a paper.

"What do you think it is, Koro?" She asked the dog without losing sight of Tatsumi.

"Koro? What's...!"

As if the world had gone mad, everything around her turned black. Nothing, not even the very wall she was leaning against. She just saw him.

The cocktail of emotions that was brewing inside of her exploded at the same time, and her whole body stopped obeying her. She couldn't feel happy, cry of anger or laugh awkwardly. She didn't feel anything.

Finally, like a flower blooming in the dessert, a thread of her voice fled from her mouth.

"Dad...dy?"

He stood there, ten meters away from her. His ever-happy smile, his nonchalant attitude... it was as he had never left.

"..."

"Y-Yes... Koro... stay."

"W-Wait! Dad!"

She started to follow the shadow he left behind. She forgot about everything she was doing at moment just to follow him. She didn't even thought that it could be a fake. It was like she couldn't think that.

However, her heart kept fueling her emotions until she didn't feel that unsettling feeling that covered her thoughts. After all, what could be worse?

It was less than five minutes following him, even if felt like an eternity.

He finally stopped in the middle of an abandoned plaza.

She didn't say a word until she hugged him tightly, feeling that he was alive. Nothing could break the happiness she was feeling...

"Looks like I've shown you somebody rather special."

Snapping out of trance, Seryu realized that her father hadn't returned. As she jumped away, a name popped out of her head.

"Zank the executioner..." All those happy emotions disappeared and converted into anger. How could he do something so evil to her? Justice had a new target...

"That's Executioner with a capital E." He responded, like he was in the middle of some idle gossip. A pair of hand blades appeared in his hands, getting ready for the upcoming fight.

"Quite the magnificent head you have. I always wondered how a broken mind looks from the outside. Splendid! You are quite flustered right now!"

As the man kept talking, Seryu started to think what kind of enemy she was fighting. That eye in his forehead was most likely a teigu, but where was Koro? He should come right away after she called him.

"Exactly! A two on one was rather unfair, so you ordered him to stay in place! Now that we are quite far, we can talk until dawn. That is, if you sur-"

Tired of his random talk, she got close enough to punch him in the guts. However, she was blocked by his blades.

"This is splendid! You had a good strategy but-"

Following her punch, she threw an uppercut with her left hand. Even if it was dodged, he seemed to be surprised by her speed.

Not losing any time, Zank had to block the roundhouse kick that was aimed exactly at his neck.

"Impossible, impossible. I can see everything you're going to do. But I'll admit that you have much more strength that the boy I was following!"

Seeing that her assault was doing no good, she decided to jump back and rethink her strategy.

She couldn't fight a teigu user without a teigu, but she wasn't so weak that she would crumble just because of that. Even if he had a Teigu...

Seryu started to smile as she fully grasped the situation.

"You talk too much! In name of the absolute justice, I shall make the evil pay, here and now!" Her aura totally switched from confused to her characteristic justice mode. She couldn't lose, because justice was at her side!

"That's what I was talking about! I wonder what face will you make? I'm hoping for a new one!"

As he finished those words, she launched a full front assault on him. She didn't have her full arsenal with her but...

She used full extent of her abilities, but even if she managed to pin him down... she couldn't even put a scratch on his face.

She couldn't let him attack even once, as she wouldn't been able to block it. Even if she saw where he was attacking and tried to block, he would suddenly change of path.

"How does that despair feel? Knowing that nobody will come to save you... My Far Sight power told me that nobody was in the surrounding area... Except for that boy, but he didn't know you were there. That was just splendid!"

As she realized who that boy was, she made the mistake of taking one step ahead.

The tip of his right blade broke through her defense, destroying her breastplate and even making her bleed.

As she trying to take a step back and defend herself, she remembered that it would be useless. Everything would hit south in a matter of seconds.

She managed to dodge a downward slash, just to be barely save her right arm from being chopped off. Another cut appeared in her left arm, followed by more minor injuries.

Finally, making a berserk attempt, she managed to make him slide away by a powerful kick that seemed to have broken his power.

"Ah... Unconscious moves. You are starting to break down. Just ask me to end you nice and tidily and I'll be happy to deliv- "

A loud noise overwhelmed his voice. Seryu started to smell the gunpowder in the air, and noticed how the left arm of the Executioner started to bleed.

Zank turned over to see a Lieutenant of the Imperial Army. Instead of being surprised, he seemed to get even more enthusiastic. In the other hand, Seryu was left with fear and happiness.

"I'm sorry. Where was that whole Far Sight at right now?"

Tatsumi was already in his battle position, both sword and gun ready.

* * *

**I'm a prick for ending the chapter right here. I was going to put the fight in this chapter, but I was taking so long. I did it for the greater good!**

**Before I say anything else, I want to remark something about _Spectator. _Zank mentions that the power of the Ilusion or whatever, can only be used in one person at a time. By saying that, and this is all speculation by my part, he means that the other powers like Insight or Prediction can work at more than one person at a time. However, he is clearly surprised when Akame jumps out of nowhere and stops him from killing Tatsumi. So... He can only use that power if he knows that a person is near him so surprise attacks should do the trick...? Because if not, he is OP as fuck.**

**That is the whole reason I'm taking so long. And because I'm lazy. **

**Anyways, thanks for all the support this last chapter. Knowing that people like my work is a good feeling. Especially whit all the errors I make and don't realize.**

**I would say that... in three chapters, shit is going to hit the fan. Tatsumi is already known in the army, and some people have seen that he's trying to do "good". It's only a matter of time until he gets in the eyes of the Revolutionary Army... Or the Imperial Army.**

**That is all I have to say! Thanks Again!**


	5. All About Perspective

**I just realized how many mistakes I've made in these past chapters. WHAT THE HELL BRAIN?!**

**Anyways, here's the awaited chapter. You could say this is the point of no return for Tatsumi.**

* * *

Tsk... It was bad enough that it was cold as a normal night in my village, now I don't even know where I am. This map he gave me looks nothing like the streets I see in front of me.

Let's see... I'm in Youth Fountain, which is an intersection of Death Parade and... Who the hell names these streets? Ah wait, there should be a huge coliseum right there.

Agh! This is just frustrating. Why doesn't he appear and try to kill me? Look at me! I have a very tasty neck! What? You're scared?! Yeah, couldn't even cut my head...!

"Hahaha... What am I doing with my life." He's going to kill me. Very hard.

I've only seen two Teigu users. One made me piss myself and the other one made me piss myself and freaking run for ten minutes. Who kind of psychopath does that!?

Speaking of pissing... I really should have done that before leaving. It would be better if I didn't stain my pants in the middle of fighting. It would be pretty funny for an eight year old...

I'll just go to some random alley. I'm impressed the capital manages to keep the streets clean knowing the sizes of the city. I guess they only clean certain streets and important districts, because it would be impossible. I should have started as a trash collector, using my incredible speed to clean the streets in a pick.

...

That's much better! My stress went down and my mobility went up. Just like a nice cup of veng-

"Gah! The hell are you doing Koro?!" What is that thing doing here all alone?! It's just creepy seeing him in the middle of the darkness.

Strange, he didn't react.

I moved my hand in front of him, and he followed my hand normally. But if he was here, where was Seryu? She can't fly, can she?

"Hey, where is your master? She should be here, right?" I asked looking around. He just saw me peeing, didn't he?

The doggie nodded, and made a full spin like a ballerina. What's wrong with this thing...?

"Don't tell me she got into some mess?" But even then, why would she leave him alone? They are always pretty close, although I don't know if it's because of love, or just convenience. Actually, I haven't seen her alone. Even when she sleeps. Do they go to the bathroom together too...?

The teigu nodded again. Well, Seryu is strong. I don't think she would die just because-

"So, where did she go to?" A strange feeling started to plague my chest.

He pointed to the alley behind him. Why isn't he moving?

"Fine. Let's go!" I started to go in that direction, but the dog didn't move. What is it...?

I went back and tried to pull him up. He weighted a ton. How the hell...?

"Whatever, I don't need you hell-spawn!" He wasn't moving and I couldn't held him. Well, screw you too.

Agh, damn it. I know she isn't in trouble. She is literally the strongest person I know... At least physically. She's a broken mind up there. Certainly, she wouldn't lose...

But, why do I even care? She insulted Ieyasu but I still try to excuse her. It's stupid. It's just because I felt her pain... or something like that. I'm done with her, but I'll... I won't lose anyone again. Even if she is strange and psychotic... she was still kind. And I don't know if the persons she killed were good people. She's very good teacher too...

Running through the streets, I checked my equipment.

My basic leather armor, cool white jacket... Checked. Handgun with two bullets in the chamber and another two to spare. Checked. And finally, my sword. I just sharpened it up today, and it's in the best conditions. If I can' beat that Teigu user today... Well, I'll be dead anyways.

I heard a particular sound in the distance. I could distinguish the sound of metal against metal. Seryu doesn't have a sword, then she can't be there... Even then, I have to check it.

I stopped dead in my tracks as I saw two people fighting against each other.

"...nowing that nobody will come to save you... My Far Sight power told me that nobody was in the surrounding area... Except for that boy, but he didn't know you were there. That was just splendid!" The voice of the man expressed many emotions, but I couldn't tell if he was happy, enthusiast, or just crazy.

Seryu was there too, and she was definitely fighting with everything she had. I had only seen that kind of speed once, but it seemed that Zank knew where her punches and kicks would be.

Right as I thought that, Seryu slipped in her feet and Zank took advantage of that to break the armor she had. She even broke her shirt.

He followed that with even faster hits that I couldn't see, but Seryu responded with a kick that made him stumble.

"Ah... Unconscious moves." No more chit chat my good killer.

I pressed my finger against the trigger. This is it. I had no chance to beat him alone from what I could see, but Seryu is with me. I don't really care that it goes against my mission of doing it alone. They don't have to know.

I had not taken into account the wind and the bullet got redirected. At the end, I still hit his left arm. I was aiming for the heart but I found out something rather interesting.

"I'm sorry. Where was that whole Far Sight at right now?"

He turned around with a very creepy smile, and I prepared my defense. I reloaded my gun, having two bullets once again. Flintlock be damned.

"Idiot! You can't fight a Teigu user without a Teigu!" Seryu yelled as I felt even more determined.

"Yet you're still here, right?" I replied. I hope that if we attack together we'll-

"Ah, trying to team up! Splendid, you thought that right now?"

How the- He can read my mind! Wait, Nea's father only told me one thing.

That's the only thing he told me anyways.

I can't reach the state of a serene mind. I know that. I will be working on that in the future, but right now, I have another thing to say.

"Do you know that the human body can live three days without water?" But we can live a whole week without eating any food! That is definitely something!

"The Earth is actually round. Even if our ancestors believed it was flat, there is plenty evidence to confirm that it's actually a sphere." Although the Empire killed lots of people who said that anyways... they acknowledge it recently.

Zank face showed the lowest grade of confusion, but then he smiled like the creep he was.

"I see, I see. Blocking your thoughts so I can't read your movements. A clever idea b-"

His monologue was completely stopped as Seryu kicked him in the head, sending him flying a few meters.

I'm not gonna lie. I hadn't actually thought that Seryu would attack him, but it worked pretty swiftly. Did she break his neck or... No, he's getting up. Ah! I can't think of what I'm going to do!

"Tatsumi, run before he comes back!" I ignored her words and quickly approached him while he was still down.

I can do this!

I tried to finish him off while he was in the ground. Instead of feeling flesh in my sword, I cringed as I heard the sound of metal against concrete. How could I miss? He was here just a second ago!

"Splendid! You really did confuse me right there! But even if you block your thoughts, I can still see both of your movements. I have the upper hand again." He explained with gusto.

"Even with that... I can't lose! Monsters like you can't be ramping around killing people!" Damn it! Where is Seryu?

I waited for his movement, but it seemed that he had no plans of moving. Fine! I'll attack!

My sword made its way towards his torso, but he dodged it by taking a step back casually.

Not even losing a second, I stretched my left hand and tried to shot his head. But even before I pulled the trigger, he had already moved to dodge it. The bullet was lost in the distance.

Moments after regretting losing a bullet, I saw how my guard was completely broken. And Zank was moving way faster than me.

An intense pain flooded my mind. He just completely cut my skin and muscle of my stomach... My innards are going to spill out...!

I lost the grip of my handgun and started to press my hand against my wound.

It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!

"I'm a monster you say? Everyone is a monster. Every person I beheaded, innocent or not, was a monster." What the hell? He's completely mad!

"After all, being a human is to take advantage of somebody. Monsters do the same thing."

No. That can't be it! Being a human... Being a human... What is being a human?

"That can't be it... A human loves and cares about each other. Monsters don't do that!" Zank seemed to enjoy that I was actually replying to him.

I looked back to see that Seryu was actually more injured than I thought. Her chest was bleeding a lot... Just a bit more! I will end this!

"I see, I see. Then by your logic, even the tyrants up there are still humans, even if they have killed more people than you could imagine." Why are we talking about this...

"No! Somebody who has do so much damage... can't feel the same way as me!"

I started to get up, using my sword as a cane. I can recover from this... Probably. I'll just sew myself back. I know I can't die yet.

"Yes, yes. Then how do you categorize those monsters? Because you haven't given me a proper response." How do I... It's obvious isn't it?

"Those who kill another humans just for fun or because they felt like it. Those are monsters." I felt like I had fell into a deeper hole than before.

I checked the wound in my stomach, and confirmed that nothing else than blood was coming out of it. I can still fight without getting my guts all around the floor.

"Ah, I understand. This is a matter of perspectives. Your perspective tells you that I'm a monster, but have you really think outside the bubble?" He started to grind as he switched his focus from me.

"She still has some fight in her! Splendid!" Before I realized, I saw that Seryu had started to attack him. But I noticed that something was wrong. Her legs moved faster than her arms, and that can't be good... Even then I completely forgot about that fight.

I had killed three guards in that mansion... Did they need to die? I couldn't have known if they were truly evil. Have I killed the supports of three families? I was so blind by revenge that I didn't even think about it twice.

Am I really... what I'm trying to destroy?

That's impossible! I am who I am. If I had not killed them, then Night Raid would have done it. I just speeded up the process...

No... I can't believe my own words. Back then... I acted like a killing machine. And I was about to do the same thing to Ogre, and I had even thought of killing Seryu.

Ieyasu wanted me to create the perfect world. That didn't mean that I had to live in it. If I have to become a monster so this world becomes a better place...

Will I be able to tolerate myself?

Then that means... Seryu really believed what she said. She really thought Ogre was a good person. Because of the point of view, she liked him even if it was wrong! Not because it was the truth!

I completely stood up as I saw Seryu being thrown just in front of me. She was a bloody mess... She could have been killed just now. Why wasn't I helping?

Seeing her like this... Being my fault...

"My best friend is death. The girl I care about is probably gone. And the only person that treated me like a normal human being is bleeding out in front of me. I'll end this in one attack!"

"Tatsumi... wait." Seryu's voice was more like a whisper, barely audible. "We need to attack together."

She slowly got up, using me as a support. It hurts a bit...

"Whenever you're ready." I answered.

I felt the wind circling around me. I cannot think too much. I don't know if he is trying to read my mind, or reading my muscles. He is faster and stronger than me. But I have one thing that he doesn't have, better reach.

Those arm blades are powerful, but my first attack will probably be my only chance. I have to make him struggle somehow! But how?

"So, who's first? We have the whole night!"

She nodded slightly. That's the signal!

I launched myself at him. I was surprised as I had reached him far faster than I expected. Being in this situation was making me stronger and faster.

My sword was aimed directly at his neck, trying to use a bit of irony in my advantage.

I used all I had to kill him, but the only thing I got was a scratch in his cheek.

And I could say that he hadn't chopped off my head, because he had hit me in the back. Don't tell me how. I'm pretty sure that's going to hurt but-

I stopped myself with my free hand and rushed at him again. I could feel the blood pouring out of the newly acquired wound in my back, but I couldn't lose the adrenaline just because of that!

He was already facing me. I had missed the only chance I had, and now he was ready for me.

I closed my eyes as I waited the final blow.

My face suddenly was covered with blood. I didn't slow down with that jumpscare, but I noticed something odd in Zank's torso. A bullet wound...?

Seryu... How were you able hit him? He reads minds, doesn't he? And where did you get a gun?!

That was when it struck me. He can't use the teigu at two persons at a time. That's why he didn't see me coming! The same reason that he has been fighting us one at a time! He can only engage one enemy at a time... so in big groups he must decide who is the major threat! Which means that...

My sword was parried by one of his arm blades. I could not react fast enough to avoid the kick that he launched at my stomach, right where he had made my previous wound.

Now I really know how death feels like. I'm pretty sure I blacked out for a second because of the pain. When I opened my eyes again, I was already moving unconsciously.

I feigned an attack, making sure that he tried to avoid me. My movements weren't as fast as before... but I NEED to be the major danger!

Almost in unison, she managed to hit him in the ribs with a punch. For the first time, I saw him in pain. He didn't even flinch whit the shot, but that must have really hurt. His speed had been reduced, that's for sure.

We tried to attack again, but I lagged behind. My wounds were getting the best of me... I was losing too much blood.

Our synchronization was shattered, and Seryu was pushed back. Damn it!

"I'll confess, this IS fun. You're just getting your hopes up, and that is delightful! But I won't die." He was also getting weaker, even if he didn't admit it.

"Ah yeah? Well, it's easy to hate on others when you're too irrelevant to receive it back." I replied with a grin.

He really was mad. His speed was incredible and he would be in front of me in less than a second. I won't be able to attack in time. Everything started to slow down as he approached me.

If only... If only I had something that he couldn't predict. You can't predict something in-

"...!"

My body moved in its own. I didn't care if I failed, either way I was going to die. That unfinished skill, the one that saved my life back then.

A sword is used in close combat. It's stupid to throw it as a spear, because it isn't made to reach great distances, not to mention it won't have much penetration. But he is moving very fast... Throwing the sword will be my ace. He can't predict something that doesn't have a mind...!

I threw my only weapon at him. It lunged at a decent speed, but all this stress had made me forget something. He _can _see my muscles. He will know where I throw it.

However, he was moving too fast to dodge an object that was also moving towards him. As much as you can predict it, his wounds are already making him slower. If you can't react, it's stupid to know what will happen.

The sword managed to cut part of his leg, making him trip in front of him.

"Holy... It worked...!" I muttered without realizing. I can end him!

I moved towards the sword that had fallen 6 six meters in front of me. I tried to move. I swear I tried, but I fell to the ground. My leg... my leg was bleeding.

"Haha... You really are... a monster." Zank was in one knee, definitely feeling pain.

I closely watched his arm blade covered in blood. My blood. He almost chopped off my leg... If I hadn't hit his arm back then, he surely would have break it!

"Zank... For the murders of innocents and soldiers, and stealing a Teigu from the Empire... your sentence is death." My voice really reached him, even if it was barely a whisper.

"...After all this, you truly are the best specimen I've ever seen. who will deliver that justice, if may I as-"

It seemed he realized, that Seryu was nowhere to be seen. But it was already too late.

"Me." A pair of hands grabbed his head.

He couldn't say anything. He smiled, like he was just waiting for that moment. The moment where it didn't matter if you were a noble, a peasant or just a thief. The moment... when you see the light of hell.

Seryu twisted his neck without any hesitation. He fell down without any sound, as I watched Seryu proud of her accomplishment.

Zank was dead.

Seryu and I... We killed him...

But the true price is right in front of me. An Imperial Arm... a teigu. With that, I will find you...

I tried to get up, but I fell to one knee. I can still grab that thing... I just need to... Huh...?

What is this? A katana? Why is it floating in front of me? Have I lost too much blood and I'm seeing illusions? Blood...

Red eyes.

Akame.

Like the goddess of death, she was in front of me with that demon sword. Was she watching the whole time? She was going to watch me die...?

For some reason... I thought she was beautiful. Why was I finding beauty in death, instead of life?

I tried to get up. I tried to fight with hate. But the only thing I felt was... despair.

Despair of not being able to do anything, like that one time. She was dreadful. She could kill me right now, and I wouldn't be able to do anything.

My heart was trying to escape from my chest. My lungs were burning from the battle, and felt like they would explode in any second.

"Night Raid..." Seryu? She is going to enter berserk again...

As I tried to speak, I started to cough blood. How? Did he hit me in another place? I couldn't talk! I can't move! Seryu is going to...

I... I can't fight. I'm going to lay back...

It's so cold...

I'm really bleeding out...

"Tatsumi! Tatsumi!"

I'm seeing Sayo...? She is crying... She is trying to wake me up... It hurts when you move me like that! Where did she come from?

Ah, I get it. I'm hallucinating. Everything is spinning. I'm really going to die.

The image of Akame, Seryu and Sayo crowded around me. Then I passed out.

* * *

_"Then I'll go and help you! I always wanted an adventure!"_

_"I'll stand in this circle. If you can throw me out of it, I'll spare her."_

_"Why are you doing this? Stop it!"_

_"Tatsumi? I won't forget that name."_

_"Why are you so weak?"_

Huh...? What was that? Was that all a dream...? I've been having plenty of bad dreams, but that one takes the cake. Those red eyes were scary...

I opened my eyes, but the light blinded me. Where am I? The room I'm staying at doesn't have that much light. Am I in a hospital or something?

"Uf..." My torso is killing me. I feel my heart going slowly... That really wasn't a dream?

How did I survive that? My mouth is dry... and my arms are sore. I can feel my whole body, so at least I haven't lost that much. I'm sure I get some scars as a reminder, but I'll live through.

Was that really Sayo? It must be an illusion. Why would she be with Akame anyways? I can't imagine her harming anyone, much less killing people. Just an illusion.

My eyes started to get accustomed to the light of the room. I really don't know where I am...

Hm...Something is in my leg. I can't really see it though...

I slowly tried to get into a better position. Although the pain was bothering me, I somehow managed to lay back in the bed. I don't want to risk it too much.

It wasn't something in my leg, more like someone. It was Seryu sleeping like a baby. Was she really here the whole time... Wait, how did she get healed up faster than me?! She doesn't even look injured. At least she didn't do something stupid with Akame. Or maybe she did. I really have to make sure she doesn't see them.

Ha... I guess I really care after all. She isn't trying to kill me, and even if she is crazy... she is still a good person with me. I'm glad... she is alive.

It seemed that my movements had waken her up, as she slowly opened her eyes. Hey, was she drooling in my le-

"Tatsumi!" I couldn't do anything as she suddenly hugged me with love. I felt a really warm feeling in my chest...

"Hey... You are hurting me." Even if I said that... I felt happy. It's just like in the old times, I feel really grateful that somebody cares about me, now that I'm alone...

"Ah! Sorry..." She still cared after hitting her... What does she find so fascinating about me anyways? Just because I saved a little girl and remind her of her father? That sounds really creepy...

"It's fine. I should apologize for saying those thing- You are too close..."

Hey... Why is she looking at me like that? Stop it! You are making me blush! She is going to kill me after all!

"There, there." She patted my head with a smile. She is like a big sister... "But don't do something so reckless! Koro had to bring you all the way, and he was very hungry! It was very lucky that he didn't eat you!" T-That's a joke, right?

I shook my head as I remembered something. Everything differs if I change perspective. I am a cold blooded murderer for those man I killed, but I'm a powerful figure for others. There isn't black or white... just a monotone gray.

* * *

"..."

The same day I woke up, I was brought to trial. Military, if you want to get specific. Not only I had 'cheated' in the mission, I had failed to bring back the teigu. Best case scenario, they will use disciplinary methods... And in the worst case I'll... be executed.

I must say, I had planned to leave the capital if something like this happened, but if I had known I would get this injured... Maybe I would have escaped earlier.

But I can't. Right now I'm in front of three old looking soldiers, the judges, I guess. The room was barely illuminated, but I was able to see two strong looking guards in the door behind me.

"Do you know why you are here?" His rough voice made me uncomfortable.

"...Failing my mission." I tried to be as respectable as I could. The lack of response made me wonder if I had done something wrong. I mean, again.

"Could you explain what happened between you and the teigu user?" Another voice just as cold asked me.

"... I was patrolling the streets, and uh..." Now it's not the time to doubt! "I heard the distinct noise of metal. When I got there Ser- a guard was fighting the teigu user. I couldn't watch her die, so after a rough battle, I discovered the weak point of the teigu and was able to take him down with the help of said guard." I was able to say that without flinching. I'm impressed.

"Continue."

"Yes. Before acquiring the teigu... Akame of Night Raid appeared. I passed out before being able of doing anything..." That's rather embarrassing, but I was too nervous to feel that.

After another awkward silence, one of the voices spoke again.

"This is not your first encounter with Night Raid, is it?" The last loud voice asked.

"No. I..." Come on, I had something planned for this! "I reached the capital at night, and a nice family gave me shelter. When Night Raid attacked I was with the guards of the mansion and they told me to run. Which I did." That is the first lie...

"Captain Ogre was in charge of the investigation. He believed that you participated in that attack. Don't you find it odd that he died days later?"

I was not prepared for that! Did they investigated the way those guards died to my fighting style?! No, Tatsumi, stay calm!

"It was a coincidence." Ah that's not going to work dumbass!

"Quite the coincidence, right? Two of us are already convinced of your alliance with the Revolutionary Army, but I'm still undecided. You have a last chance to explain this odd circumstances."

"The Revol- What?" Ah! I said that out loud! The hell is the revolutionary army?!

"I was being followed by Seryu all the time! Ogre and I had a disagreement... so she had the mission of following me for his well-being. If you don't believe me, you can ask her!" I lost the cool there. I didn't kill him, even if I really wanted to.

"Yet that doesn't explain why you have been able to survive Night Raid twice." Wait, so they knew? Then why?

"Well... The only one I've seen is Akame who s already out in posters... In the first one I just saw her and I was innocent so I guess that is why she didn't do anything. And in the second one... She was after the teigu." She has shown me mercy two times already. For a killer she is being pretty nice. Of course, I'm not going to say that.

"..." Again with those awkward silences. I would say I was getting used to them, but I couldn't really easy my mind.

"Under normal circumstances, you would be sentenced to death. Insubordination, incompetent, suspect of murder and you are too anarchist for our precious Empire."

I felt my heart skip a beat as I heard 'sentenced to death'. B-But they say this was a special case right? That doesn't mean torture and then death?! And what do you mean anarchist? Having common sense is anarchism? Well, I don't really know the definition of anarchism... Still rude!

I would have tried to reply back, but I was a little bit too scared.

"You happen to know a man named Ishin, correct?"

"Uh... Is he famous?" What does this have to do with me? Do I have to kill him or something...?

They laughed as they heard me.

"Let me tell you, if you really are a spy, you are one of the worst." Eh? Spy? I thought I was an anarchist. Why did he change the tone of his voice? He sounds more... warm.

"I'm not... I don't know what you're talking about. Did I miss something?" I don't know what's happening. There must be something I'm missing...

"Your master. You must have know him for quite long? Find that man, and we'll take care of it. If you succeed, you'll be forgiven. I don't really need to tell what WILL happen if you fail."

"A... A mission? But I thought I was a spy, anarchist or whatever. Isn't this too...?" Stupid?

"You don't have the permission to talk back."

Wait. Wait and think. Think for a second Tatsumi. They want my master. They probably will have people to follow me around everywhere I go, and they won't be as nice as Seryu. Second, if they suspect that I'm a spy... they must think I'll try to report this or something? But I don't know who those enemies of the Empire are. They are connected to my master? Too many questions...

"Oh. We almost forgot. Your punishment." I was already in the brink of stress, and those words made the blood in my head disappear, leaving me blank.

"Flagellation... the doctors will determine the amount."

I could barely react as two guards restrained me. W-What does flagellation mean?! I don't... Wait, isn't that whipping? Hey, hey, I have my back already wounded! That is a bit too much, right?!

As I was dragged around the corridors, I started to get even more anxious. There was no avoiding this. Will I have to run away from the army? I don't know where I should go to look for my master, and I don't even want to do that! I don't want to have more scars!

If I'm really going to get lashed, I'm not going to let them enjoy of my cries. I will fix this... There shouldn't be any physical punishments! Those are just... inhuman! I should... I must make a list of this inhuman things, so everyone can live without suffering... Too much.

"It's that... a priest?" The man with extravangant clothes only walked besides us, but for me it was just more signals of my fate. It won't be that bad, Tatsumi!

The official religion of the Empire isn't very followed where I live. Only the capital and the outskirts follow that religion. From what my father told me, hundreds of years before I was born, the Empire tried to convert everyone, but there was just too many people with their own beliefs. So they just gave up on that idea, and let everyone live their own lives.

Even then, the aristocrats think they are blessed by their god, so they just bash out in heretics. I haven't really thought if there is a god out there, but he must be pretty bad to let so many people suffer.

Before I realized, my coat was torn apart as they forced me to lay in the ground. For a minute or so, the priest started to recite some kind of chant. The hell was that about?! I don't understand a word he's saying!

Did they just skip the whole 'doctor' part?! Are they doctors what the-

One, two, three. Those three lashes happened quick. To my surprise, it didn't hurt as much as I thought, and I don't know if it was compassion, but they totally missed my wound in my upper part. I guess Zank almost hit me in the neck...

I counted to ten, and I started to grit my teeth. My skin started to soften as more blows came my way. I couldn't even feel where he was hitting me anymore. I just knew that my back was on fire.

Twenty five. My body realized that I wasn't going to move, and tried to move by itself. I don't know why I was still conscious, but not even half a minute had passed and I already was at my limit.

Thirty seven. At least that's what one of the guards said, as I couldn't even count anymore. My shirt was probably broken, but I didn't even make a sound. I've been stabbed, so I think I'll be able to live even more. Of course I don't want to, but it's not like my toes are getting cut off.

Just as quickly as it started, it ended. Fifty no less, and the last five were pure agony. When I gathered enough strength to get back up, I was left alone to stagger to my feet and walk out.

"So you're still alive?" One of the guards told me.

"More than you." My dignity is still intact... more or less. I'm really thinking that my mind is starting to suffer too much.

Now then...

* * *

**Some hours later...**

"Ouch! It stings!"

"You're such a little kid... Be a man!"

"I got lashed like...fifty times!"

This didn't turn as good as I thought... I mean, Seryu is cleaning my wounds, but it hurts just as much. And even if we are in a bed, I can't really see her, as she is treating my back. However, I bet she's enj-

"AH! That was on purpose!" I know that alcohol is meant to disinfect open cuts and those alike... But why the hell does it sting like a manta ray?!

"It's possible... Maybe you want a mommy kiss?" What.

"I-I'm fine... Besides shouldn't you be a mom to do one?"

"I guess it makes sense... then a big sister kiss? And then you'd be the little brother!" This is just getting morbid. And strange. Straight out of a B movie. Why is she bringing this up anyways?!

"Wait, wait, wait. Stop thinking those things!"

"Oh, maybe you like little sisters?" Alright, I'm done. 100% done.

I got up instantly as I tried to forget everything that transpired this last ten minutes.

"I have things to do! Lots of things! Important things!" Where is my siste- I mean, my shirt!

"Hey! I'm not finished! I have to bandage you first. Or do you want to stain all your clothes?" If you talk to me like that, I won't know if you're a mother or a big sister!

I slightly sighed as I sat down again. This is for the greater good, huh... If I see this from her point of view, I must look like I don't really like her. And well, until recently I didn't exactly... did good things to her. I literally was happy when I heard from Ogre's death, in contrast to her sadness, craziness... whatever. But she is still trying to help me, and even if I remind her of her dad or something, this is a bit too far. She didn't even questioned why I had the back like this.

"Tatsumi, do you hate me?" I felt a shiver run down my spine. She is a psychic?!

"Why do you ask?" I really don't want to asnwer.

"You ignore me a lot." Don't make me feel bad... Maybe it was on purpose, but I kinda feel like I shouldn't have done that.

"I'm just... uncomfortable around you." Don't reply, don't reply...

"Ah! I was afraid that you would say that!"

"D-Don't misunderstand it! You really are helping me. Without you I'm pretty sure I would be dead... After all, you are really kind, most of the times at least." I could feel the tension slipping away. I didn't lie, she is nice around me.

"Wow... You say it like I'm an important person. Continue please! Wait, then if you think that, then why did you say that earlier?" Well, I've never seen her like this. Her happy tone doesn't sound so forced.

"Well... Maybe these past days I didn't exactly get you but I guess I understand you now." Great explaining right there, Tatsumi! That lie is so obvious th-

"Oh, fine then." She continued bandaging my whole torso while humming happily. Ok, I think these are trust issues. Reverse trust issues.

"You shouldn't believe everything you hear. Even I know that much." I didn't want to sound angry or anything, but it was something I don't understand.

"You're my justice buddy, of course I'll believe everything you'll say." That's... extreme.

"What if I lied to you?" She must have common sense somewhere inside her. Her logic is strange.

"Well, even if you lie, I don't think my trust would go away." She is saying it so serious too!

"Why? Just because I remind you of someone? It's just too random." I've felt this way since I met her, but maybe now I can get an answer.

"I don't exactly know... At first it was like that, but then I started to feel different. Have you never felt like somebody will be there to help you, even when everything isn't going your way? You're like... a guardian angel."

"Eh? How so? I kind of slapped you, and stopped talking you for a week." Well, it wasn't on purpose, but you were very scary.

"Hmm... I guess I did tell you bad things too?" Huh? Is she trying to justify my acts? How is she... No, why?

I turned around to face her. I felt like hot lead gradually raised from my chest.

Seryu isn't exactly the sanest person in the world... What is really going on through her head? Angel? Guardian? I can't believe what she is saying. I'm forcing myself to trust her, and I want to, but it's no use if I can't understand her.

"Alright. Tell me why. If you really trust whatever I say, then please, answer me. Why are you doing this?" My question didn't faze her the slightest. And that makes me mad for some reason.

"Because you're my little brother!" She just said those words with a really cute smile.

"... You're just joking with me." No, really. Who's writing this crap?!

"Huh? I was Seryus." I'm done. Why is she taking this like it's just a joke? I just want answers, but why is she avoiding my question?

"Answer me! Why are you doing this?!This goes far beyond charity! There must be a reason! I haven't done anything to deserve this. I haven't changed anything, I can't trust anyone and I've lost everything, so please, I just want a reason to trust you... I don't want to be alone again. So even if you try to kill me, I want to be with someone..."

I closed my eyes as painful memories flooded my mind. Ieyasu, Sayo, Master, Dad... Why does everyone leave me? Nobody should feel like this. I haven't done anything to deserve it. Is this just because I want to change the Empire? Because I tried to chew too much? This destiny is trying to destroy, and it's really working. But if I stop here... then everyone will be forgotten. Your memories, your wishes, your strength... We promised to die together, to change everything. I'm the only one left... And I can't do it.

I felt tears running down my cheeks. I couldn't hold them back. However... I felt this warm all over my body. This isn't right... She is hugging me?

"...Let it all out."

I didn't trust her, but yet I obeyed like she was my mother. Just with those words I broke completely as I returned her embrace.

I had never cried this much before, not since... Well, since someday. Still, crying is a very bad sensation, but I could feel like it was refreshing. Just being with her... was enough. I don't trust her and yet I don't want to leave her.

I don't know how much time passed, but when I realized what was I doing, my head was in Seryu's lap while she caressed my hair softly.

"It's very painful to be alone." She started to talk. "I've been alone a lot of time, so when I saw you, how nice you were, I didn't want to lose somebody like you. I'm sorry if I acted strange. I didn't know how to act."

She was telling the truth. I had never heard her like this, so... natural. For the first time, I really heard the true Seryu and not the façade she put every day.

"...Well, I guess we are now the same. We just have each other." I muttered.

Now I understood what Seryu found familiar in me. It wasn't that I reminded her of her lsot father. It wasn't my kind nature.

We both were seeking vengeance, under the banner of justice. She wanted to avenge her father, and tried to emulate his sense of justice. And for all the things that happened that day, I was trying to get my revenge in the Empire. I honestly thought that I wanted an absolute justice, but it was just a fluke in my thoughts. I want MY justice, even if it's not moral, even if it's illogical.

"I'll leave now. Thank you... for everything." I won't say something like; I trust you. Even if I understand her, I'll wait a bit to build my trust.

Alright... Breath in, breath out.

I got up from the bed I was lying in and stretched my muscles. Let's just forget everything that happened here.

I need to hit a wall to get my normal self back. But first...

"Uh, I'm going to do some... mental exercise?" Seriously.

I realized in my fight with Zank that I couldn't see any fast movements. I think the stronger I get, I should be able to see even strangest movements. But I can't wait so many months or years to reach that point. I'm sure that if I achieve a serene mind, I'll be able to see anything.

I put on a simple black shirt, and checked my new white jacket. It's more rigid, but it feels just as comfortable. Normally, I wouldn't wear this because I have the sheath of the sword in my back, but I can't really do that now. And I admit it, wearing a sword in my belt isn't as good looking.

"This was a free one! Don't cry again because I won't be able to be around all the time, okay?" She said while trying to sound serious.

"Don't worry about that. You won't die." I promise.

I opened the door, before a random thought left my mouth.

"Are you getting enough sleep?" It was a question that I decided to ask regularly, because she was still looking for Night Raid 24/7. I don't know how she does it, because she is also following me.

Even if she didn't show it, she was very sad... and grieving for Ogre's death. I can't really share that feeling with her though...

"A bit..." She averted her soggy eyes.

"See? This is why I'm the big brother." I said before leaving the room.

At least I'm grateful that she is so nice with me... I really needed somebody to hold on, even for just a second. Being alone sucks...

But I'm not going to be powerless again. I know what to do.

"Lieutenant! We've been looking for you everywhere!" I looked back to see some of my soldiers greeting me with the normal salute.

"I had... a lecture. Is there something wrong?" I didn't really want to do anything more today, but I guess duty calls. Why do I work every day...? Ah yes, money.

"A woman is calling for you. Sergeant Eguz is distracting her currently." A woman...?

"How old is she?" Could it be...?

"... Mid twenties?" Ah damn it. Now everyone will think badly of me.

"Whatever, let's go."

Sayo... Will I surrender so easily? I don't know what else to do. But with the problems I have, if you're alive, it will be better if we don't meet. So I'm not really giving up... I'll just stop searching for a while, ok?

My back was still hurting a bit, and I hope I'll able to sit down a chair. I know that I can lay down sideways, but it would be extremely awkward.

The hallways had a strange feeling surrounding them. I knew exactly what it was.

I reached the appointed room, and opened without knocking. I definitely heard the voice of my sergeant inside.

As I was told, a woman was there. Her clothes were in bad shape, and her feminine face showed a bit of sorrow. For some reason, her red hair remained me of something I wanted to do.

"Lt. Tatsumi! At last... This woman was asking for you everywhere." Egu said out loud. He got a bit closer and whispered to me. "She is a prostitute, apparently escaped from the Red District."

The Red District of the capital is known for... Well, prostitutes and drugs... The police is gone on that district, overtaken by the mafias. That's the little bit of information I got.

"Oh, what can I do to help, miss? Tell me to stab someone and I'll stab it!" I tried to sound as cheerful as usual. Though that cheerfulness has been pretty absent lately.

"My sister is still trapped in that hellhole... I heard that you stopped some hangings, and there is a rumor which says that you have helped people. So please, I beg you, can you bring back my sister?" She was very stressed, like she didn't believe what she was saying. But are there really those rumors about me?

"Well, of course! Where is she exactly at?" Her hopeful face made me realize the bright side of being a soldier.

"Excuse me, Lieutenant. We can't act in the Red District. Prostitution and most drugs are legal in there. We don't have the authority." Egu's words really blew up her hopes.

And mine too. As much as I wanted to help, the Empire has an eye on me. I can't act on my own. Even if I use my 'authority', it would still be bad. How can I act without raising suspicion? Even if I manage to find an excuse...

"... I ask again, where is she? I'll do everything I can." I made Egu's complain stop with just raising my hand.

"She's in the center... Where the strongest group is at." Oh good. Great actually.

_Hm... The strongest group that controls the Red District... Not only this girl, a lot of woman are there treated like slaves... The police has been driven out... Whoever manages to take it back..._

"Alright. I'll act as soon as I can. How many guards are there?" The number was very important.

"There are at least 300 guards there. Huh... there are three buildings... 80 or so per building and the rest in watch towers. More or less." That was very accurate. Who is she really?

My unit has 40 men... I can't do it alone.

"There are another two lieutenants in our squadron, right? I'll convince them to join me. The captain will agree." I said as I watched the shocked faces of my soldiers.

"You can leave miss. We will get your sister and everyone out of there." She smiled and left the room. I couldn't help but notice that... she looked more like an spy that had accomplished her mission. She wasn't a prostitute right? Was she of the Revolutionary Army or whatever?

"W-What are you saying?! Those mafias bribed the police so they would leave! There isn't a reason to do this..." Aw... That was very obvious.

"What makes you think we need a casus belli? I'm going to tell you a nice story." I said as I sat down in a chair. The astonished faces of the three soldiers just fueled my strength.

"Everything is just a point of view. For example, from my point of view, Egu is a model soldier. But if we take one of your underlings, he might think that you're just a perverted tyrant." They nodded in response.

"The Empire and this matter is the same. From the Empire's point of view, the Red District is profitable. But for a normal citizen is just immoral. We just need to trick that perspective." They started to understand what I was saying.

"But that would be... treason." I shook my head in disappointment.

"I might not be a soldier, but I think our duty is to protect the Empire, correct? I don't think the Empire is just one person, or a bunch of aristocrats. Every single person is part of the country, even if they are doing bad things or think the governors are doing it badly. That's why I think that soldiers serve the people, not just one guy up there. For that reason... we must protect those people from the Red District, even if they came there willingly or for necessity. The people that run around this country are the Empire. Those criminals are hurting people, and thus opposing the Empire. I won't blame you if you don't think like I do, but think as a soldier, and do your duty."

I got that out of my system. I guess this of being neutral is still not enough... even if I understand why the people are doing this, it doesn't mean they are right.

"... Wow... I understand. Everyone is the Empire, so we have to help those people even if the law says is normal. Lieutenant! This is why I thought you were so cool!" He did the militar salute with both pride and happiness.

He understands... I'm glad.

"Alright! Gather those two lieutenants! I'll convince them to join this operation!" I felt a new found strength running through my veins.

Someone understands my ideals. The other lieutenants will understand me too!

I know what to do.

We'll make up an excuse. An excuse so messed up that even the Empire will act. And then we'll be prepared and take the glory! It's a flawless plan! Not only that, but everyone will know my name! I'll gain a bond with the other units too... The army will love me!

First the Red District. Next the Imperial Palace. The capital will fall... and then the Empire.

And anyone or anything that stands in my way will be eliminated one way or another.

* * *

**Aw yes. Serious Tatsumi has appeared! The emotional instability is gone... for at least a chapter. Which means he is going to kick ass.**

**Tatsumi's master, or Ishin as I decided to call him... will have an important role. I will give a cookie if somebody realizes what he is. And if you search Ishin in Google, it will be pretty obvious.**

**If somebody hasn't realized, the Red District is the compound Leone and Tatsumi attack in episode six or... I don't remember which chapter of the manga.**

**By the way, what do you think of Tatsumi's way of thinkings? He is willing to accept any kind of perspective... But until what point?**

**And sorry for not updating earlier, because I was lazy for some reason. Sorry sorry!**

**And next chapter... I will just say that Tatsumi will start to become famous and things aren't going to be as smooth as he thinks. Especially after the Empire realizes...**


	6. Nosocomium

_**-The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be good or evil.- Hannah Arendt**_

* * *

For some reason, she was watching him in the distance.

You see, she quickly learnt he was interested in stories. Those tales from the past that nobody remembered intrigued him. He described them to be inspiring, brilliant stories where anything could be resolved because of the indestructible force of courage.

Even after he lost his father, she still smiled and encourage him to continue to be curious. At some point, she realized the cruel fact that he had changed. He acted happy around her, but it was just a shadow of his original self. But even then, she felt compelled to be with him, and help him recover.

She never knew when it happened, but when she realized it came down like a bucket of water.

Perhaps it was when he healed her right hand, one day of summer. She had never seen him so worried for her. She obviously told him it was nothing, but he didn't cease in bandaging her hand.

It didn't happen in one day, but somehow she started to feel an inkling sound around him.

A year after that, it seemed like all those agony days he passed disappeared. He just seemed to have forgotten all those bad things. And he truly did. She never saw his serious face never again, not even when those bandits separated them.

And now, here he was again, serious as she had never seen before. The thought of a tragedy passed through her head, but she dismissed those thoughts as he smiled at the kids that gathered around him. Not only that, he got embarrassed as the bystanders greeted him like he was their own son.

That's right. The death of Zank spread like water all around the capital and the Empire. And the one who stopped him also accompanied it. With love or hate, little by little his name became more and more known.

It had been tricky, because the Empire usually hides these facts. She only said some words over here and there... and everything lead to this. He must happy... or angry at her.

But she was still there, just following warily, not sure on how to act. He was still the same, but she just felt something off.

"What are you doing?" She straightened as he heard the voice of a girl behind her.

As she saw her attires she felt even more nervous. The girl with a ponytail was part of the Imperial Army.

"I was... I was searching for my friend?" She wasn't made to lie! He just wanted to see him, alright?!

"Following somebody is not against the law. However it is very creepy." She said it like she was scolding a little kid.

"I just wanted to say hello... It's been a lot since I've seen him, okay?!" She laughed nervously as the guard just tensed up.

"...How can I know you're saying the truth? Maybe you're trying to kill him." As the soldier started to get more serious, Sayo couldn't hide her anxiety. She was saying the truth, even if she didn't believe her. There should be something...

"T-Then... why don't you ask him? I'm sure he must be preoccupied too." Those words seemed to work, at least to some degree.

"Sometimes he is absent-minded but... Stay here." The girl with a dog announced as she left her alone.

... Just who was she anyways? Why is she talking to him so casually...?

Ah! He's looking here! He's looking here!

* * *

I... I don't know what to say to kids! Respect the law? Yeah, right. Be nice to everyone around seems much better. Come on, how does everyone knows what I did?! It was just...

"Oi! Good job, Capt! See those imperials what it means!" I'm a lieutenant... Hey! I don't need more people confirming my acts! I'm going to end up death. Quicker than normal.

I was just having a calming walk before tonight's Operation, and everyone just seems to know me! The hell?! And this is just the 'good' part.

Captain Ogre's squadron is still without a replacement. And I'm certain they're up to no good. They are going to try something, but I can't blame them. Every clue leads to me, so it's just normal... but it's still annoying. There have been fights between some of my soldiers and them. Apparently they were protecting my honor, but I just said it wasn't necessary.

I'm afraid that something worst might happen...

"Ta-tsu-mi! I came to wish you luck!" The familiar voice brought me back to reality.

Seryu has been designated another mission, and she has stopped stalking me. Which is good... or bad depending on the situation.

"Oh, thanks! I wish you luck too in... whatever you're doing." I don't really want to know. Koro must be having a good time... And I don't want to think of that again.

Hm...? I swear I just saw something familiar... Maybe it was just a hutch.

"I have to go kiddos... Don't leave at night? Alone? Do... Follow your senses."

They laughed at my hesitation and ran away. It's fun being a kid... They looked like urchins, but they were still happy. Stup-

"Never mind. I'm having weird thoughts again." I merely stated as Seryu looked at me confused.

"Are they telling you 'Koro is great'?" She's still very persistent with that.

"Nop. They are telling me that I need to have everything set in motion. Just to be sure, are there fireworks tonight?" I said as I looked to the sun. It's almost noon.

"I think so. It's a good night for murders to happen." If she had said that a month ago, I would have literally pissed myself right there and then. But I know exactly what she means.

"Damn rig- Well, I was trying to relax before tonight, but it's not working..." Usually walking through the forest calmed me a lot, but the streets are different. That or I have changed. I mean, I probably have changed.

"Ahh... I see. Maybe being with your justice partner might do the trick!" Her pure smile made it hard to say no.

Never mind, I haven't changed. Sadly I'm still the same guy who succumbs to a woman's charms.

"Fine, why not? B-But don't grab my hand!" She really took that whole 'sister' thing to heart. She isn't letting my arm go...

"Oh, right! Did you have friends in your village?" That was straightforward. And random too...

"Well, of course I... had. What kind of ice breaker was that?" I said, trying to avoid the subject. It's a bit insensible to talk about another's past.

"Really? No girlfriend of anything?"

I don't know what kind of face I made, but I think the expression 'as red as a beet' fell way back behind.

"W-W-Why are you suddenly asking that?!" I said, hardly getting the words out.

This is just pure, unadulterated, curiosity. Nothing else! No ulterior motive!

Why am I even like this? I know the answer, but the question itself makes me think. I... Don't know how to act! Why was there only one girl in my village?! Stupid inexperience!

"You're avoiding the question. Then, it's that a no?" That smile appeared again, and I realized why her mere presence was so off-putting.

I felt my stomach drop as I realized where the conversation was going.

"Don't kill anyone." I felt immediate regret upon saying it, perhaps knowing that the answer would be terrible. Or not.

"Ah! Tatsumi, you insult me with those words! I would never do such thing!" Why is she suddenly speaking like that?!

"What were you planning then?" I said, calming myself.

She didn't reply as she started to drag me away. What are we fleeing of anyways...?

This seriously isn't helping my body... Considering what I have to go through...

* * *

_**Flashback**_

"Egu, where are the other two lieutenants?" I said as I reached our reunion hall. It was just a normal room with a table in the middle.

"They should be here any minute now, sir." Fine...

However, there was somebody else watching over in the room.

"Captain Ekai. Thanks for letting me do this." I said sincerely as I bowed slightly. It had been very hard to get him, not to mention the other two lieutenants. If I could do this in one go, the better.

"Everybody gets one." He replied annoyed.

I don't blame him. If somebody you let become a lieutenant, turns out to be some kind of anarchist-revolutionary-somethingary, I would be pretty upset too.

Not even two minutes later, a man and a woman appeared in the lonely hall.

"So you're _that _Tatsumi?" A rather bulky man said. He seemed to have been through a lot of battles, as he had several scars. If I recall correctly he is Lt. Sagar. Are they going to bully me...?

"I thought you'd be taller, but you're not as the people describe you." The woman said with a serious tone. She was Lt. Daso... They really look like a bunch of a aggressive superiors.

"T-Thank you?"

"It wasn't a compliment."

"Ah..." I coughed a bit to expulse all my negative feelings. I can do this, I can be intimidating too!

"So what is this important operation you wanted our help for? I won't fight any teigu users by the way." The man really didn't like me...!

"Please, sit down." They grudgingly nodded as they sat down in the round table.

"I plan to retake the red district." Nobody said anything. They didn't know if I was joking, or if I was really serious.

"Are you for real? Do you know how big that thing is?" Sagar said with a skeptical glare.

"Yes, and that is the whole reason we will just destroy the heart. Without their HQ, everything will fall apart." I didn't know I could make such a serious attitude.

"... We can't act anyways, most of the things there are legal." The woman answered nonchalantly.

"Yeah, most. There are women there that are treated worse than slaves... And we can't do a damn thing. Or so I thought." I nodded to my sergeant who was in the corner of the room. I feel a bit bad because they did most of the work and I just stood here half-dead.

"Did you really checked which drugs were legal and illegal? You really are planning to do this, huh..." Am I really breaking through?

"I guess you two know what opium is? Guess who person of a certain family is addicted to that? Of course, we don't want to uncover who is it. But we found a lot of clues, meaning we have to rescue him before those thugs realize who he is."

Just replace "found" by "created" and I should start to feel as a horrible person.

Yeah, the boys didn't find anything illegal. So Egu went out of his way to get that freaking monstrosity of an excuse. Once we get in the building, we'll just say he had already left before we realized... Kind of a bullshit plan really, but you just say royal family and everyone shuts up.

If I have to make up excuses to destroy all these immoral things, I WILL do it. Hell, my life in the army is already an excuse, why should I even bother? They treat everyone like shit, so I'll do the same to them.

Oh, and don't worry. If they somehow catch me, I already have a plan. It involves running... and kicking a lot of people.

"A member of the Royal Family? May I ask how you know that?" The captain spoke for the first time, probably sensing my lies. Don't be daunted!

"... Egu was the one who found out. I'm sure he can explain...!" I shifted the blame on this one! Sorry underling whose name I already forgot!

The sergeant looked over to me as he held his head with his hand. Tell me he is good at lying...!

"Eh? O-Of course. You see, I was minding my own business in this district... when suddenly I realized I had no money. Then somebody came over to me and started to talk to me like we were old friends and pam! He starts to talk about his high horse life. I obviously didn't believe him, but these tough guys got in the way and pushed my aside. I didn't realize it at first, but I'm a hundred percent sure they were Varangian Guards." Well, that went better than expected.

It seems that everyone took the bait, even if it was just the tip of the iceberg.

"So you're telling us, to let our comrades wreak havoc in those three buildings with a lot of chances of dying? Shouldn't it be easier to be a one man mission?" They're actually having interest! This is great! Use carefully your words now, Tatsumi!

"Well, I did think about that. But unless you know of someone who can jump between buildings, hear my plan."

Egu placed in the table a blueprint of the Heart of the red district.

It consisted of three buildings. One in the west, another in the east and the most important in the north. The distance between them was about 150 meters, more or less. The inner part was pretty lighted and secured, so it was pretty stupid to just rush in. Not to mention that there were guards in the rooftops.

"It took me quite a while to figure this out. There will be three platoons, A, B and C."I started to describe my plan. I'm quite proud of it! I'm not exactly a tactician, but this is pretty good for me.

"We think that there are about... twenty guys in the balconies. But the upper floors can't see right below of them, due to the shape of the building. This way we only have to deal with two of the watchtowers, creating a blind spot. Somebody will take them out, and secure the courtyard. Without the snipers, it should be a swift." I cleared my throat before continuing. I had never talked so much...

"Between the west and north building there is a entrance for the... ladies of the night. It's not very secured, and platoon A should break through that wall like it's paper. After that, they will enter the west building and try to capture... or kill whoever's in there. At the same time, platoon B will break through the onsen of the East building... The wall there is a bunch of loose rocks and wood, so please don't make a sound." I used a pawn piece to represent each unit, so it was easier to understand.

"And last but not least, platoon C will enter through the main door. Without the snipers, it should be a cakewalk until they reach the North building. This route is the only one who has a bit of resistance, so I'll join them as soon as they enter the building. The only way this plan will work is if we have a good timing."

I made sure to point everything out. I even used chess pieces to represent every single unit! I feel like a professional doing this, even if it's my first time. I can't help but feel a very strange sensation...

"Any questions?" I said as I understood the meaning of their glances.

"Why don't we all just rush from the same side?" The strange woman asked.

"... There aren't any soldiers in that district. It would be stupid to gather in the same place. By doing this, we will have less of a chance of being discovered before the time."

"And who's gonna be the kamikaze who will climb towards the balconies, and neutralize everyone?" The stubborn woman asked.

"I'll do it. It won't be very hard." It's also the most important task of the operation... And if I do it, the soldiers will praise me. Who doesn't love a suicidal commander who can do those things?

"...How may I ask? There are three buildings, even if you only need to take down two, you yourself said that it was impossible to jump between buildings."

"I'll enter as a costumer thirty minutes before the operation starts. In ten minutes the East building's guards will have been wiped out. Five minutes to get to the North Building and it will be over. Some fireworks will start as soon as I finish, so enter when you hear them." I don't really know if I can do it... depends if I have a good throwing arm.

"And you are going to do this alone because...?" Because shut up.

"Having more people involved will just increase the chances of failure. I know I can do it, but if somebody messes up, then everything will end."

"... You seem to have everything figured out. But what makes you think that we'll help you? We won't do an almost impossible mission just because you want some praise."

Alright Tatsumi, this is the moment. You've prepared for this since... some days. I hate these kinds of speeches, but Sayo always told me to say what I think.

"You see, if we succeed we will get a lot of renown and some kind of reward... Or maybe if you want to get professional... This operation needs you, and the fate of hundreds of people are at your hands! So follow your sense of duty?!" I had completely forgotten what I was about to say.

I was going to repeat the same speech I did with my soldiers, why did it turn out like this?!

The bulky man got up from the chair and approached me. Don't hit me please...!

Ah! Hitting me on the shoulder won't-

"Hahaha! You could have just say do your duty! You really seem to have a good head in your shoulders. He's... accepting?! Holy molly, I did it! I convinced him! Oh yeah!

Wait! Is my zipper up? It is! It worked! I convinced someone!

"Well... Now it just depends if the captain agrees." My voice really doesn't match the excitement I'm feeling!

"You won't be having any promotion, you know that? In any case, this mission will most likely depend whether if you're useful or not." A cold shiver ran down my spine. All this... for nothing? I don't think so.

"... I don't need a promotion. I want to get the hang of leading people in the battlefield." I was lying, but I couldn't let my cover go like this.

In any case, if a position it's opened up... If he suddenly got caught in the crossfire... Ah, no. I'm already in the fire, I can't do that even if I wanted to...

"I'm good as long as we get paid. At least this breaks the routine. What do you say?" The lieutenant said as he turned around to face the his female counterpart.

"Sure, whatever. I hope there won't be any casualties..."

* * *

Why was that flashback so long?

After that, the captain told me to say this 'family' member's name. Fortunately, Egu said some random name, and I was saved.

Now I'm just waiting in my room in the barracks, trying to shake off this nervousness. Not only my life is at risk, but I have the weight of another 150 men at my shoulders.

Even if I am not the head of this operation, I am the one who proposed everything. The routes they have to follow until they reach the center, how much time they will need to clear the building, the weapons they'll need, and the worst part is reaching the compound. Because the moment they see soldiers in the streets, everyone in the Red District will freak out. That's what happens when there isn't even a trace of government forces.

Everything will be fine...

I just need to do my part. Killing or restrain all those guards. Then just jump down and finish the job.

The north building should be fine, but the west one is a brothel. I hope they just have a bit of decency...

Oh god, what am I going to see there. You just need to go up, don't look anywhere else. Don't smell anything. Don't hear anything. AND don't touch anything.

Somebody knocked the door, and I had to get up to open it. Don't think of anything...

"Sir, the woman came back. She asks to meet with you again." Woman?

"... Ah, the one who informed us? Why would she come back?"

* * *

_**22:42 **_

_**West Building's entrance.**_

_**33 minutes until the fireworks start.**_

We were just outside the west building, trying to calming down my thoughts. I was wearing a brown coat with a hood, trying to make me look as normal as possible. I had been identified this morning, so I don't want to risk it.

"Just stick close to me. Don't do anything else." I told the red haired girl.

Some hours ago I realized an important thing. To enter I needed the help of somebody, and who could be better than the girl who started everything? Even if she was lying, she accepted without making a fuss. Hell, I would say she even wanted to come with me.

I don't know why, but I feel like his personality doesn't match her body... Maybe is because I haven't seen or get to know a lot of people.

Or just it is because she dresses like those people in the east. I had never seen that kind of clothes. Perhaps it's because it lifts her boo-

"Of course. But you should act more... libertine, or everyone will suspect." See? She's like a puppeteer! Maybe I'm just paranoid.

"Aha..." Libertine? Like grabbing her by the waist? That's pretty libertine, isn't it?

The bouncer seemed to have taken the bait, as he let us come inside. Agh! Now I'm just thinking of innuendos all the time because of this...!

Just forget morals... Morals... Morals...

It wasn't really working, but I just closed my eyes and continued forward.

The mix of smells was strange, but it looked like the whole building hadn't been aired in years. I couldn't distinguish what was sweat and what was smoke. I didn't even know how they could hear anything with this many people...!

However, this part looked more like an strip club more than anything. Some dancers there... don't look at their bodies... a bar and too many people. I wasn't planning on standing here too much.

Well, that girl does have clothes! I don't know what I was I expecting... Never mind, her back isn't covered. Don't look at her...!

"Let's go..." I localized some stairs at the far end, just behind all these people. And judging the couple that was going upstairs... I don't want to stay too much there either.

I grabbed her hand and continued forward, trying to go through all the customers. Just don't hit anyone... they're just drunk and they don't know what they are doing. Well, they do know. I'm going to close this place, so they are going to be pretty mad at me. IF they somehow find who did it.

"Aren't you too young to be here?"

"Aren't you too old to be here?"

What are these people talking about...? Ah no! Don't look at the waitress... Oh no, don't look at the dancer... Mission. I'm on a mission...!

I don't even want to know what kind of strange mix of alcohol these guys are drinking, because I've never ever seen something like that. Not that I actually know a lot but... Wait, this place is filled with smoke. I wondered why I felt so light suddenly... Wait that's bad.

"Wha'cha got there pal?" Is he... no, he isn't talking to me.

The stairs are just there...! Just a bit more!

"You're having a hard time." I heard the girl behind me say. I'm glad I haven't lost her grip.

"Just a bit... Wait, is that a pun?" We have to yell to hear each other, but nobody really cares. This place is kind of fun actually...

No, scrap that. These girls don't want to be here. Most.

"Listen to me. You need to go up, right? I'll accompany you for a bit." She's definitely something else. What's that sudden cold attitude...?

"Heh, you came here for something else, didn't you? And I'm a hundred percent sure it wasn't for your lost sister." I don't know what she's after, but she definitely didn't come here for pure charities work.

She narrowed her eyes as she stared at me. S-She didn't come to kill me! Surely!

"I might as well leave if you don't trust me." I could swear that she said something else, but her words were lost in the distance.

"Fine, fine. I was just asking. I'll think of this as...You know that thing animals do, this is like symbi... symbi..." Agh, stupid home schooling. I don't know half the words I'm trying to say.

"Symbiosis?"

"Yeah that!" The girl let a small laugh. I hope she wasn't laughing at me...

"Saying those words here doesn't match the ambience." We started to go up the stairs, pretty close to each other. It didn't make me uncomfortable but... I can't run like this.

The environment in the upper floors was completely different. The interminable chat of the people was replaced with moans and random yells. Not to mention all the monosyllabic words that filled everything.

There was a single hall until the next staircase, but there were only two guards staring at us, and some other... clients at the end. Although they were doing, well, I won't tell who is sucking who, because I'm going to ignore that. There are rooms for a reason, you know?!

"Be more focused." Great, now you're acting like Seryu.

H-Hey, why are you hugging me?! Keep walking...!

"Adapt to your surroundings. Grabbing me by the hand isn't really going to help." She whispered in my ear. A-Alright, she must be an spy or something. There is no way somebody knows how to act for real.

As we passed through the pair of guards, I realized how slow we were walking. I need to take care of this in less than five minutes and go down and take care of the other building. Damn it! I didn't expect so many people down there!

"Change of plans."

I crouched down as I pointed my neck. "Taking the easy route."

I felt my heart race faster as she surrounded me with her arms. It's lucky that she isn't taller than me... But now we can go much quicker!

As I ran up the stairs, I realized that her legs were pretty... light. Seriously. I would say she needed to be a tad shorter and five years younger.

And this is not a very good stimulation for my body after all what I've seen.

After barely a minute, we reached a wider area than the other levels.

"Crap!" This floor was the one with the snipers. And thus, it was prohibited for customers. However... I'm not a customer.

"Do whatever you need to do." I told the nice lady, as she let go of my neck.

She looked at me as she entered a side room, probably the maintenance service. If there is one here anyways.

"I have to... take out the trash."

* * *

_**22:58**_

_**West Building's sniper nest neutralized.**_

_**17 minutes until the fireworks start.**_

"And that's the reason you shouldn't have this kind of job."

I looked at the balcony full of bodies. There were five guards for each side of the building, and with a little bit of stealth most of them didn't even flinch.

The last side noticed something and I had to kill them. All the others are currently unconscious. Why didn't I kill them? I don't know.

Hell, they went down fairly quickly. Not a single bullet was fired. They actually didn't notice I was there until the sixteenth guy fell down. If it wasn't of the circular pattern they followed, it would be much harder.

Why... Why don't I feel anything? I killed five of them and I didn't feel anything strange.

I think somebody said; he who fights with monsters should see to it that he himself does not become a monster, when you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.

Being surrounded with that insensitiveness has left a mark on me...

"Hey, is Gary again with his fucking org- Holy shit."

I turned around to see that a guard had actually came up here. He looked at me shocked.

Crap! Did I make too much noise?!

"What did you-" I saw a guard coming out from the same room the girl had entered. He immediately approached his teammate as he saw the pile of bodies and me.

Oh no, had he attacked her? No... He couldn't be so deaf. Something is very wrong.

Alright, I'll attack them both with a zigzag. First the one on the left and then the one in the-

One of the guards pulled something out of his sleeve and hit the other one in the neck. I would have moved if it wasn't for... you know, he falling dead to the ground.

Not to mention that the other one turned into smoke. Did I get high? I don't feel strange. Well, I did murder some people, but it was necessary.

"This is why I didn't want to do this. You're too careless." A feminine voice said, one that I hadn't heard before.

I was surprised, of course. Not because the smoke faded away to reveal a cute girl, or the fact that she was wearing headphones for some reason. None of that.

It was because there could only be one thing able to do that. A teigu.

Wait a second... If she could change of form, why the hell did she need me?!

Don't freak out... She just changes forms, nothing else. If I kill her... No, no! She helped you! You can't take her teigu!

"You think way too much for your own good. At this rate, you'll be dead in a month." Oh great, and now she also acts all cold. You know what? Screw it.

"Judging a person is bad. It basically sums up who you are." Yeah, piss off the teigu user. Great move.

Instead of a reply, she just smiled mischievously.

"I was merely stating the obvious. The Revolutionary Army has an eye on you, and I was coincidentally in a good position to see your actions." She moved a hand to her mouth, as if trying to grab something, however she just sighed as she found nothing.

"Huh? Never mind. Although I'm already accustomed to being followed, I have a decent influence right now to throw it away. If that army wants to kill me too, I'm afraid that I'll have to disagree." I suddenly remembered the mission I was in.

I spent too much time talking!

"You're just too paranoid. Hold on a sec..." I saw how more steam appeared, and the girl returned to the previous form. I guess that is why she felt so light...

"I don't think you need my help to get out." I pointed out, trying to avert my eyes from her glare.

"But you need mine. Besides, you made me lean against you, so you should be repaying me."

Tsk... She had it all figured it out?

* * *

_**23:06 **_

_**Norh Building's entrance.**_

_**9 minutes until the fireworks start.**_

I'm going to run out of time! If this keeps up, my men are going to get shot! I don't want to be known as the one who failed!

"This part is the true HQ. You aren't going to enter like in the other one." The shape shifter reminded me.

"I know, but I can't lose more time. Can't you dress me up with one of those fancy transformations?" I asked as I looked at the guards in front of the entrance. If I could slip right through them...

"No thanks. I'm not risking myself." She's too calculative... "Weren't you the one who came up with a plan? Did you seriously not thought of this part?" Cheeky bastard... Eh, it's just a thought, ok?!

"Well yes. But seeing the way you are... I mean, I understand that you have a mission or whatever, but I don't know why am I required. You could just slip right through them, am I right?" She didn't move her eyes even one bit, just a random blink once in a while... She really is listening to me?

"The reason I need you is because the second mouse gets the cheese." That doesn't make any sense! "I want to see how far can you go, seeing if you are really stupid or incredibly clever. Either way, with that attitude you will do something stupid. And seeing the way you are, you'll do it." Did she just called me naïve in a very subtle way? That or a pervert, I don't know.

"Hm, whatever. Then smarty, if you are willing to go such ways..."

* * *

The guards in the front door didn't say anything as my "bodyguard" escorted me. I had trouble watching everything with a hood, but even I saw the majestic lobby.

The hall was big, decorated to the last centimeter. The walls had beautiful paintings of some aristocrat and his wife, reminding me who had built the district in the first place. The chandeliers that lighted the place brought a strange sense of comfort which I couldn't understand.

In fact, since I have entered here I have started to feel way more relaxed than before. Maybe it has to do with the strange smell that poured from this place.

But even if this hall was beautiful, the rest of the building wasn't. In some floor, the girls working here are "tamed" with drugs. The addiction just makes them going until they fell exhausted. This place certainly deserves the name of a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"Hey, who are you two? This is a private installation." A random guard, dressed in the strange black and white clothing asked the teigu user.

She had changed into some kind of wandering knight. Armor, feathers, and sunglasses. You call it. Does she just imagine someone and dress like them...? I mean, those lipsticks and things must do something.

Just let her handle this. Nothing bad... will happen...

"Don't you know who he is?! We came from the south islands just to check this place out!" She really was good at acting. But what if the man's attitude was different? That could be bad.

"That guy again? I thought he came by yesterday?" He said pointing casually at me. Ah, crap! What are the odds?!

As I opened my mouth to respond, she was already talking.

"Tsk, this is not the time to be discussing these trivialities. I'm sure your boss won't like the idea of one of _his _guards to bother us. "

The man made a strange gesture, as if he had sensed something bad.

"S-Sir, wait! I have to do things! Gotta go!" The guard quickly apologized, and left without making a fuss.

Without much trouble, we reached the staircase. Even after that, I counted ten guards in there.

We started to go up the stairs. For some reason, I tried to break the silence between us.

"Can't you transform into a dragon and wreck havoc?"

"...Really?" I got confused for a second as I heard the male voice. Completely forgot that she has that voice.

"What? I have my priorities." I started to go up the stairs even quicker.

How much time had passed? Damn it! I have to go fast! It's strange that I don't feel nervous, but this is not the time to think about it. No more delay.

This was the last floor, I just need to go up another one and the snipers, watchmen, or whatever will be there. I don't know if the structure will be the same, so I have to make sure to not stain my clothes. It's nasty to have those blood sta-

"Wait a second." The voice of a girl stopped me.

She is a girl again? I mean, the one that... I don't know any more. Between hot girl, spy girl and guard, I've lost the sense of logic with her. Or him, whatever swings her boat.

I felt a slight prick in my back as she, for some reason, tapped me.

"We'll meet again. It was a honor to be with you." She is just mocking me again. What was she really searching for?

"Ah, well, I don't really need your help anymore, but thanks. At least you could tell me your name." Even if I said it kindly, she just giggled like it was a bad joke.

"You really are naïve." She really meant that, and it wasn't a praise.

Was she really searching for something? Or was she testing me? This Revolutionary Army... isn't trying to kill me. She could have just done it several times, but then... If they're not trying to kill me, they want to use me?

"I need to end this..."

* * *

_**23:15 **_

_**North Building's sniper nest neutralized.**_

"Ah! Damn! They're so loud!"

The sound of the fireworks were destroying my ears, and not to mention that I had finished just five seconds before. And maybe my eardrums are exploding, but I swear I'm hearing gunshots too.

"Oh yeah, operation Nocturne Gazelle is a go!" I just came up with that name and it doesn't make any sense.

This time I acted a bit sloppily, and I don't know If I have knocked out the guards or killed them. For some reason, I can't measure my strength... The stench is much less severe up here, but I think it's connected to my condition.

I took off the hood and opened my coat. I adjusted the sheath to my back, as I didn't need to hide it anymore, and stretched my arms. I feel my will to fight building up... Let's go!

I went down a floor, carefully to not meet somebody at the steps. Just as I reached the floor, four guards started to run at me, probably to go down as reinforcements. They obviously said something to me and pointed me with their handguns.

Even if I'm in the army and could do whatever I wanted to these guys, something compelled me to open my mouth and say...

"So, what was the phrase...? Oh, yes. Surrender and live a horrifying life in prison or die swiftly by my blade." That is, if you even make it there.

Even with my threat, it seemed that they had no thought about leaving the easy life. Because they shoot me, even if they failed.

I quickly scanned the scene I was in. Ten meters between us... a hall not too big, barely two persons shoulder to shoulder could be in here... And four handguns pointed at me. If this was the me of almost two months ago, I would have no chance. However, I have changed mentally and physically.

I hadn't reached a high level of mental serenity, but I had learnt something pretty neat.

They are startled, and cannot think straight. The first thing they'll do is shoot at my chest, and they won't think about my legs. Which means that the first thing I'll do is duck.

I rushed forward, and almost five meters after, I ducked, barely missing several bullets.

Seven meters in, and sidestepped to the right, another three bullets missing me by a hair.

I obviously cannot see the trajectory of the bullets, but I can predict them. Their eyes, their position... I can't read minds like Zank, but it's just logic. Besides, if these guys were real soldiers, I would have think this through. Probably anyways...

My sword cut in half the first one the line, with almost no resistance. I didn't know I could do that... even then...

It's true that I stood by and watched him fall. It's true that I admired the pattern his blood created.

It's true that I often ignore the screams of the dying, that I often fail to act when I see this people beg for mercy. By their point of view, I am evil.

But you misunderstand.

It's not that I'm evil; only that I am apathetic. You see, I am incapable just adapting to the situation, and I'm just compensating the karma.

When faced with what they call tragedies, they accuse me of doing nothing - but forget that _they are the ones doing everything else._

Before he felt to the ground, a single slash cut the other two guards neck like butter, only a bit of skin preventing them to fell to the ground.

These thoughts... aren't normal. But, they are bad people, right? I can do... No. There isn't bad or good, remember! We are all humans, no matter the color or ideals.

I almost snapped my neck in half as I swiftly dodged the last guard's handgun. He didn't even fire it, he literally threw it. He was crying, he couldn't even talk. He moved his lips, saying...

_Don't kill me._

I am just a beast.

I am nothing more than a brute, a remorseless machine; I am much tougher than they are, even with their suits on.

I am like a predator, towering easily over my prey, and can snap a neck or a leg with a swipe of my claws; all who see me would do well to tremble at the sight.

I guess you could say I'm a monster.

Monster, heh?

Somehow, I wanted to deny it. But in the end, the people who wants a good life has no choice but to rely on us. And monsters can save people too, just like that night that Akame 'saved' us. There are people out there who can't wait for providence to a holy savior's hand.

For some reason I respect the assassin in that way. Even monsters have some pride. She didn't kill me for that reason, twice. I think I'm grateful... in some way. She has her objectives and she accomplishes them. She is powerful, but isn't blinded by it. I can't decipher her much more, but I guess she must be sad for something. Having that straight face every time was strange.

It would be nice to meet her again, in other conditions, and... I wouldn't mind being with her n... Why am I thinking about her.

Wait, I was in a mission. I switched to automatic mode for a second there...

I regained the sense of perception again, and looked at my surroundings. I went down a floor, and killed about... ten guards. There is people running and screaming everywhere... but if they aren't in a black suit and trying to kill me, I don't mind.

Huh... I guess I was thinking too much about that girl. Did I even spare that guy? If I did, I don't know if it was a wise choice. He must be traumatized... his friends just died in front of him... I'm really a monster...

I feel like crap now, damn it! This feeling of guilt is now taking me over. This is for the best, Tatsumi. The sadness of a few, will be the happiness of a lot more.

Inhale... Exhale...

I completely forgot where the stairs are. Maybe it's just around this-

"...!"

Just as I walked by the corner, I blocked a sword out of reflex.

Our swords were blocked just as second, as I kicked the ambusher swiftly. As I was about to charge, I realized who it was.

"AH! Moron! What if I was a civilian!" I shouted at my Sergeant, who was being helped by other underlings.

"You were... The only one... who was walking..." Egu had trouble breathing. I hit him really hard... That's a very strange logic anyways.

How did they reach this far out in so little time? This thing has twenty freaking floors.

In any case, I stretched my hand as guilt was still around me strongly.

"You got lucky. I must say, you got here very fast!" I tried to fix the mistake I made. I was a bit nervous of him refusing my help, but he willingly took my hand.

"Ah, well... Hahaha... We had to skip a floor because it's a crime scene." He said as I pulled him up.

"W-What? What happened?" He grabbed his sword and the two of us started to go down, as the other soldiers had the orders to arrest everyone.

"It must have happened right now. The two big bosses were there along with their elite guards. All slaughtered. The weird thing is that the doors were locked. They must have used the ventilation system or something... Wait, I thought that was the reason you were going to talk with the captain?" I stopped as I heard those words. Me? Talk to him? It's the first time we see each other this night.

"Which reminds me, how did you get up so fast?" He scratched the back of his head, trying to figure it out.

Oh no... That means...!

I started running. I know. I know what her mission was!

"There is a teigu! Gather everyone you can!" I yelled back at him.

I knew it was bad - but I had no idea just _how_ bad.

This lady, she was something else. She had us all fooled. I knew that she was one of _those_ types, the ones that will cross out your name and put hers right above it, and never even bat an eye; I knew that I could not trust her.

But this? This was so far beyond that.

She wasn't there to find something or someone. She wanted to be with me for one exact reason! Disguise herself as me! How could I be so stupid?! Somebody that wanted to help? My ass!

And the last words she told me... she confessed! She literally told me that I was naïve for that exact reason! She must have done something... but I don't know how that teigu works!

Stupid!

Stupid!

Stupid!

What was the first lesson you learnt?! Don't trust anyone! And what the hell do you do?! Trust the freaking girl! Being in that atmosphere of naked girls around me, made me believe that the only one who had clothes on was the one I could trust.

Agh! Egu said "I" was going to see the captain. Is she going to kill him? What did he do anyways? He's the one that lent me this status and... I might even be a bit sad if he dies.

This is how you felt, right Seryu? Not knowing what the hell is happening is distressing...

I ran as fast as I could, descending levels like a soufflé. In each floor I saw soldiers that were busy securing some guards. At least the operation seems to go smoothly...

No matter... No matter the circumstances, at least I noticed. There is something good in that. However, I feel this ache in my heart... Like something is going wrong.

Come on! Don't think of that. She only changes shapes, in the end she is a human being with a heart and everything. Maybe this is the easy teigu...! Although I don't know how to feel about giving it to the Empire, it won't matter in the end.

After a very long minute, I reached the yard. There were some soldiers chatting like nothing had happened. They saluted me politely, which means that the buildings have been dealt with... at least the first floors.

There was some other girls crying out of happiness, and other men insulting their captors.

But without rhyme or reason, somebody who should not be here appeared. The captain was heading towards the exit, but I managed to call him out.

He turned around indifferently.

"Tatsumi! I see that the operation was an utter success!" The captain greeted me like we were old friends. It wasn't strange, but for some reason I thought that his tone was a little off.

"It appears so, but there is something important! There is teigu user around that can change forms. Apparently that person is running around like me." I completely forgot about saluting, but this was more important. And I managed to not say 'she'.

He touched his chin with his right hand as he looked around.

"Teigu user... We have to act quickly then. This area must be evacuated immediately. You are the one with most experience against them, so use your experience." I nodded and turned around.

My sixth sense started to yell at me. Something was definitely wrong.

"Wait a second, captain. There is something else."

There was still a chance to make it work. I could feel it. Granted, I could feel a lot of things, but that was in there.

...somewhere.

I saw how about twenty men left the North building, more than likely Egu and his underlings. If something must go right this night, please, let it be this one.

"Good timing. Surround the 'captain'." I said with all confidence.

I had been a fool, and nothing more. Time to fix that mistake.

Everyone fell silent. Apparently I love insubordination, but if I was that sneaky girl...

"...Have you gone mad?!" I heard his voice yell at me. I damn sure have gone mad. Probably six years ago.

"You won't get me this time, shape shifter!" I shouted my words, leaving an uncomfortable silence in the yard. Complete nothingness.

"Do you expect everyone to believe that? It's obvious that you are the teigu user!" Everyone suddenly looked at me, trying to see what was different.

Well... I had not think about that. I just need to say something that only I would say, right?

"Ah! I know. I'm the only one who likes Hatsukiai in this attachment!"

Even if it sounded silly and senseless, it was a reference that only this privileged people would know of.

Eighteen soldiers surrounded the apparent captain, and some other approached the scenario. If I'm wrong, I'll end up in a pike. Again.

"This is an order from your captain! Stop this nonsense at once or a severe punishment will be delivered!" Those are the last cards!

I tackled the captain, restraining his arms and legs with almost no effort.

The soldiers started to hesitate, and I could hear some gasps full of terror. With everything against me, the only thing that could save me was...

"You're brighter than you look." Smoke started to appear, revealing the girl's true form. After everything, I couldn't help but to grin.

"Disguising yourself as me was your first mistake, but second mouse gets the cheese, right?" In spite of being exposed, she just smiled like a spoiled child.

"Disguised? I wanted to know how you acted. I can't transform into a person I haven't killed." She explained casually.

Then what the hell was Egu talking about?! Did he just confuse me with someone else?!

"But the cat gets both of them." I tilted my head in confusion. The cat gets both...?

I looked at her hand as I felt her trying to move it. She had a strange looking ball like a...

Grenade?!

A faint explosion made me release my grip while white smoke covered everything, leaving me alone with the girl.

I suddenly felt pain in my torso, as the air was knocked out of me. My body felt light as I flew a few meters into the ground, knocking a few soldiers along the way.

What the hell?!

I somehow managed to withstand the blow and stay conscious. I quickly hid away my pain, and got up with my sword ready.

So that's what she meant by the cat. The intruder that assaulted me was a blonde woman with cat ears and paws. More like a lioness... And she hits extremely hard too! Or she is into cosplay, or it's another teigu!

For better or worse, she grabbed the shape shifter quite roughly, and jumped into the rooftops. It was over before it even began.

"...Why does this always happen to me?" Now I'm sure they will say something like, that girl hit him, so he must be from Night Raid. Screw you too stupid judges!

I helped the soldiers I had bumped into, feeling a bit ashamed. They literally took the bad part of the hit.

"Agh... Then the captain is...?" One of the soldiers mentioned.

"...Well, we can't be so sure she was saying the truth." Even if I tried to think that, it was highly unlikeable. She was there for a mission, and she was too calmed to have failed.

I shrugged as I took a quick breath. What to do...? We still have to end this operation, but if the captain is missing... We'll have to look for him, even if it's corpse recovery. Maybe I'll have to make the 'get the hell out' operation too soon.

This can't get any worse, can it?

"Alright. Secure the north building. Trying to chase them will only bring more frustration. And... Uh... You're doing a good job out here!" I said awkwardly. "Now finish before we find more pains!"

I saw how everyone nodded and returned to the central building. I don't know how to command troops... Being nice just doesn't do it. What could it be...?

"Lieutenant! You're bleeding!" I blinked twice as Egu pointed at my stomach.

I looked down to see a black stain in my coat. I thought of the battles I had in the buildings, but they were flawless. Besides, the clothes aren't ripped. Unless...

"Oh no..." That was exactly the same place where Zank cut me. Even if the cut had heal, it was still very weak! That can't be good! It was almost healed too!

"Heh... What would people think if I left the battlefield now?" I said with a bland smirk. "Besides we have to find the captain."

Even if he was still whining, we left the main building and started to look for our superior. He should be in the outside, but there are actually many curious people trying to hear more gunshots, which had stopped minutes ago.

If I was an assassin... where would I hide a body? In the bushes? But there aren't any bushes here. Uh... a dumpster?

In the most lucky situation, maybe he returned to the HQ. Maybe something happened, and he was needed.

"Is there a horse somewhere? I would like to check back at the HQ. Perhaps he returned for some weird thing." I briefly explained.

"With that wound? If you die from blood lose, I won't be your number one fan anymore. Whatever, just take the damn horse."

"With gusto."

* * *

Taking the horse was a bad idea. Like, very bad. If that cut is growing after healing, I'll kill myself. If the infection doesn't do it before me. Seryu is going to kill me too. Double nice.

After a painful ride, I reach the beginning of the Cloud District, which meant home. More or less. The west has a very nice park, even if not many people go there. I just stick to my surrounding area because... I get lost.

After the horse slowed down, rain started to pour down. Now it's not a very good time for this, it would have better impact in that fight back there.

Now I remember why I have never liked this park. There is only one stone road, and a very bad portrayed forest at the sides. Who would put cedars in this environment? Not to mention the sound. It's quiet. Like... damn, the rain is the only thing I hear. Awfully quiet besides that.

I got off the horse, as pain flowed through my entire body. Not only I had that wound, but I wasn't accustomed to ride a horse.

Huh...

I turned my head towards the trees. It was just a small crack. It could have been anything, an animal, the wind, an old branch or...

_A mistake._

_I did not mean to stop here; I meant to pass on by, as all the rest do._

_Maybe it was because I couldn't be in the horse anymore, or because the curiosity overwhelmed me. But with the time I realized something._

_I __wish I knew what would happen- I wish I could have warned myself._

_If I had not checked that sound, maybe, just maybe, things wouldn't have ended like this. That small movement, was the same as a piece of domino. The first domino of misfortune. And the worst thing was..._

_...that it was me the one who threw the first piece down._

I lifted my shirt and checked my stupid wound. It doesn't look that bad... Besides, I just want to satisfy my curiosity, nothing else. I'll see what the hell is there, and go back.

It couldn't be good to be in the rain for this long, so I quickly entered the patch of trees in front of me. This reminds me of that one time when...

"H-Hey, don't run away!" I saw how a figure started to flee away from me, clearly avoiding me. Obviously, if somebody runs away from you, this person doesn't want to be with you. The natural response for me would be to leave that person alone. If it wasn't for the strange artifact I saw.

I quickly followed the trail, already gaining some terrain on him. Whoever it was couldn't run too fast. Who in their right mind would be hiding here...?

You're not getting me this time, paranoid Tatsumi. Think of the odds of meeting another teigu user in the span of an hour. It would be too stupid to-

"Oi, I'm here to help. Unless you try to kill, seduce, torture or trick me, it's going to be alright." Literally the list of people who do that is increasing by every breath. Except the seduce one...

Not even five seconds before that, I noticed how the figure tripped over. The rain just made it worse for running in all this mud, so it's not a surprise.

The light of the streets was a bit far away, but instantly... I recognized her.

"You are...!" All that pink gives it away. The girl I meet weeks ago... or if you want to get technical, six years ago.

I tried to move, every inch of me wanted to help. However, that... thing she was holding. The artifact that was aiming at me.

It was shaky, too dark to distinguish the features, but it was what I thought. However, she was shaking way too much. That weapon was made for both hands, right? Then why...

Oh... Her arm is broken. I have to-

A blow of wind almost threw me to the ground. No, it wasn't wind. It was pure energy. What the...

"Next time you move, I won't miss." If that was supposed to sound intimidating, it kind of worked. Because of the teigu mostly, her voice wasn't exactly threatening.

I focused again in the teigu. If I give them a teigu... it'll reaffirm my 'loyalty' to the Empire, not to mention a good prize for my village, or a promotion.

"... I can't do that. You have a broken arm, and you are... you are..." Crying.

Why didn't I pronounce those words? It's not the first time... It's not the first time.

I have seen her cry before. Crying of pain... I remember... I don't want to remember.

Teigu... I don't need it. This is more important. No, it isn't...

The logical thing would be... to take that teigu. Then why am I hesitating? I can't trust her, she is pretty much helpless, right? This is the best chance I'll ever have! Then move!

"It's fine if you don't trust me. But don't think of me as a part of the Imperials. I am who I am. I'm not even wearing an uniform... Then again, I don't really wear one."

H-Hey! Why am I talking? Why am I moving on my own? No, that doesn't make any sense! Maybe... the logical thing, isn't morally right? No, it can't be. I've killed already many times, and it isn't the most moral thing. Then why am I still thinking about this?

I noticed how the girl started to get up, as she leaned against the tree. Even if she wasn't facing me, at least that gun isn't aiming at my face.

"Are you just ignoring me or...?"

"Shut up." Oh, gee, thanks. Not trying to help or anything.

... Don't trust anybody. I'm not the only one who thinks like that. I should just turn around and return. And here I am, trying to help her. Why?

Ah, I know the reason. Ieyasu said something like... always help a lady. The most stupid thing he says, and it's the only thing that stuck on me.

"...There is a horse back there. You know, it's not really mine. I'll just back away slowly and let you all alone with your sorrows." That sounded deep. Kind of what I did, and it didn't really work out for me.

I took some steps back, making sure that she wasn't trigger happy.

"Why are you helping me...? You are going to-" I immediately raised my hand to make her stop.

" You are going to die, yeah. I'm not a little child anymore. You think I'm doing this because I'm ignorant? Probably, but that doesn't mean I don't know the reason. In fact, I should be the one to ask what are you doing here. And I should start running a sad soul can kill quicker than a germ." Even if I said it with all of my heart, it seems it didn't really reach her.

"Where did you steal that from?" She said with a sceptical look.

"Eh? Well, I certainly haven't... Get out of here, you silly goose." I would have said more, but it wasn't the best of times. I can see that something unpleasant has happened to her. I'm not so out of the loop. Most of the times.

She kept an eye on me as she passed at my side. At least, she didn't even rise her teigu to kept me at bay.

I followed her shortly after, wondering what she was doing to get herself like that. She definitely isn't in the army. Maybe... she is in this Revolution thing. What kind of revolution is it anyways? A noble uprising? A pagan insubordination? Or are they like me?

"Don't follow me." Why is she so uppity about everything I do?!

"Hey! I... Uh... I can still change my mind and arrest you!"

"Try it." She didn't even turn around. She is just sad, angry or what? I am sure that I can kill her right now. She is just five steps ahead of me. And if she is a teigu user, she must know this.

"Your broken arm begs to differ."

After that, an awkward silence filled the trip back to my horse. I didn't want to push her too much, and without doubt, she needed to think. I had seen that expression before, in a mirror.

Even if it's a sad past... Even if I'm still sad, I have to keep looking forward. I can't be depressed all the time. And maybe I should tell her but...

But.

I didn't do it. I probably won't see her again as a friend. Something wanted me to go back in time, and never meet with her in the first place.

"You can use my coat to cover your...pink dress." She can be seen from miles away. "Or I can make a quick-" repair to your arm. She wasn't listening to me.

"...I can't ride it." She muttered while looking at the horse who was struggling with the rain.

"Oh. OH. I can show you a path with less guards." I said a bit embarrased. I hadn't thought of that... Hahaha...

"No, idiot! I can't get on the saddle without my arm." I blinked several times as I tried to comprehend what she was saying.

"You could get on it if you let go of that thing." I replied while pointing at her gun-like teigu.

I felt an eerie presence as I looked down the street. We were alone, but I couldn't help but feel a lot of people not too far away. What could have happened? Maybe I should check it out when...

The girl looked at me, and instead of accepting my offer, she shook her head.

"Fine then. Most of our soldiers are back at the Red District. You can leave from this district. Aaand... You probably won't hear me." I suddenly looked at my stomach.

Somehow I completely forgot about that. I'm sure this won't have any bad side effect in the near future.

"Take care." I turned around, as I tried to figure out what was happening down there. Probably it's the mess she made down there.

"Mein." Uh? . I stopped, as if I had hit a wall. I turned, my head pulled around in the wake of her impartiality.

"That's-" She was already running away as I tried to say anything. So that's the name... She probably shouldn't have said it.

Agh, she just left me with such a bad aftertaste. Why did you talk now?

I tried to shift my thoughts into all the commotion that I started to see. There is at least five soldiers here. Why are they looking at anyways?

My eyes darted, here, then there, back and forth. I scanned the park and was momentarily confused; what were they talking abo-

And then I saw it.

I recoiled in horror, my body reacting before my brain even registered what it was.

"S-Seryu?!"

There was... No, more like there wasn't. Why was she laughing like that?! She doesn't have any arms! Oh god. How do you deal with amputation?! Try to stop the hemorrhage?!

Wait wait! How the hell is she still conscious?! There is blood everywhere! Maybe it's not all hers, but in any case, you shouldn't be so damn happy about it!

And these guys are just staring in shock!

"I did justice, Tatsu! Praise me!" She said as she moved her stumps. How is she not losing blood? No matter how strong she is, that's not possible. I've bleed more with just a cut in my stomach!

"Don't wiggle your niblets! I need to stop the bleeding and... Can I get a little help?!" I yelled back in despair.

This is bad! If she loses anymore blood...!

"I'm not losing you. I won't lose anyone again."

* * *

**I HATED THIS CHAPTER.**

**I don't know what the hell it is, but I hate something about it. It's too rushed? Too many thoughts? Too many lines?!**

**I wanted to settle down Tatsumi's thoughts and ideals, and then I wanted to do something else, and then I forgot to add Seryu and then a guillilion scenes didn't make sense and I'M FREAKING THE **** OUT. Chelsea wasn't even supposed to show up, but if she didn't then something in the long way wouldn't make sense... Then too many teigus, and even Tatsumi laughed at my face because of his odd's the reason it took so long.**

**AND WHAT?! 100 FOLLOWERS?! That's like... woah. Thank you very much! Although that number is going to go down after this. Surely.**

**Anyways... Next chapters won't be as long, and more frequent. Because, let's be honest. Who wants to wait almost a month for this?**

**Expect the next chapter sooner and for the love of... whatever god is popular these days, tell me what the hell I did here. JAKBFLASDFASFLD**

**Sorry for being so late and again, thank you.**


	7. Eudaimonia

**The break that Tatsumi needs!**

* * *

"What do you mean there is no coffee?!" An angry customer started to yell.

"Our dealer has gone missing! It's not our fault that-" More people started to fight over the coffee shortage that had been going on for days.

And then here I was... In the terrace of a coffee shop that doesn't actually serve coffee anymore. These fine people want caffeine, but tea is the way to go. I was a bit skeptical at first, but this tastes pretty good.

"Ah, sweet tea. You are the first drink that actually tastes like something."

As I enjoyed the pleasant taste of the tea, I found myself in the middle of my mind.

Since when there was so much that I can't remember?

Out of those I do remember a single certain thing.

Since the raid on the Red district, I remember her face again. Once more, many times over, what I remember is that face full of tears and sorrow. But still, somehow I remain unable to remember what happened.

"You have that face again. What are you thinking about?" I looked in front of me. Seryu had changed quite a bit with those prosthetic arms, not to mention that she had cut her ponytail into one much more... reliable. I don't know how she was able to not step on it while she walked.

"You would laugh if you found out. I'm just trying to remember... something." My answer didn't seem to satisfy her.

"And what is it?" She asked as she leaned back in the chair.

"I don't know, that's why I'm trying to remember!" She sighed, giving me an exasperated look.

"Why don't you recall the events of what happened? It's the number one step to remember!" I nodded without too much confidence.

"Let's see..."

I remember... the village elder told us to take care of some rats in the basement. We went down the stairs and found pi- Mein trying to kill me. Sayo knocked her out and after feeling bad of what happened...

... Yes, I think we took her to my house. There's a blank spot here but I know we got involved in whatever she was doing. Something about scouting the area around a cave.

Ah, yes it was something like...

_"Scouting mission?" _I remember those words clearly. I had never heard that word before.

_"Alright, I told you what I was doing! Let me go!" I kept pointing her own gun at her, just in case. Sayo and Ieyasu were there too, several steps back._

We were in... my bedroom. My house was the closest, even if Sayo's was just around the corner. Why didn't we ask for help...?

_"Scouting... We can help you! I'm sure this is going to be much quicker with four people!" _Ah, I forgot. I was pretty stupid.

_"Tatsumi! She tried to kill you! We can't just try to help her now!" _ And Sayo was the voice of reason. But we all know how that went.

"_Ah, come on! She was just a bit scared. Right, pinky?"_

_"I-I wasn't scared! I also think I hate you."_ Well, she didn't lie about the latter.

_"See? It's just going to be a little adventure! Ieyasu agrees with me, right?" _

"_Why not? I know this place like the back of my hand!" _ Ieyasu could probably get lost in his own house, but we thought that even if we found a danger beast, we could out-run it.

Sayo tagged along after that. We carefully left the village, and walked around for at least... two hours. It had been pretty unsuccessful, but we didn't find a single animal, and that just kept fueling our curiosity.

_"Give me the handgun. I'm the only one who knows how to use it." _I can't remember what happened afterwards, but I'm sure I gave it back to her... Even if Sayo disagreed with me.

Something happened... around that moment...

* * *

_Something jumped at us. Even if we were armed, my sword and Ieyasu's axe weren't sharpened. Sayo's arrows couldn't pierce through rough skin. The only real weapon we had was the handgun._

_"What... What is that?!" _

_Whatever was in front of us was... not natural. It definitely had the shape of a human body, but it had plants attached to him. His body wasn't moving at all, the plants moved for him like a snake. _

_For a moment I thought the body was in control, but how wrong was I. Whatever or whoever attached those plants, had used a human body as a vessel._

_The only plants which could move like that were danger beasts... But they didn't attach to bodies. Somebody was trying to converge them._

_"Tsk...Run!" I was aware at the time that we couldn't beat that thing. We didn't know anything about it, much less damaging it._

_I noticed how somebody didn't follow us, and I looked back. For some reason, Mein stayed behind, as if she had some ulterior motive with that being. I knew that couldn't go right..._

_"Tatsumi!" As soon as I started to run back, Sayo tried to stop me. However, it didn't feel right to leave that girl behind._

_"Don't worry! I'll be back!" Ieyasu took her hand and made her follow him. I wanted to answer, but I just shook my head unsure of how to reply._

_Like a machine without oil, the monster started to move erratically. At first, there wasn't any difference from wind rustling leaves, but then the vines started to act like snakes, trying to pinning us down in the ground. _

_I tried to approach pinky, but some of the plant's vines tried to get in my way. Luckily, I was small and fast, giving me a good chance to avoid them._

_Mein had took advantage of my distraction and shot the being right in the head. If it was a human being, it would be dead. But it didn't even flinch._

_"How...?" I grabbed her hand and instantly started to run._

_I didn't know if it was following us. I didn't really care anyways. I knew I had to get away from that thing. _

_After some minutes of running away, we stopped to catch our breath. I was pretty tense to be honest, but I managed to ask her something._

_"What kind of... Test was that?" I said between heavy breaths._

_"I... Didn't know... they were serious! Danger beasts and human hybrids... It's just stupid!" She was also pretty upset about that._

_"You could have... mentioned it or something!"_

_As she tried to argue back, voices stopped her from talking. Where had we run into? There wasn't any other settlement around here. Maybe somebody made a camp... the Imperial Army?_

_We got close to each other, perhaps out of fear. I obviously didn't want to run into people I didn't know, because they might be bandits._

_"...The Imperials... We have to get out!" She whispered into my ear._

_I saw some soldiers talking to each other, having a nice talk. It should be a small detachment but... What were they doing here? I didn't understand why was she so nervous, but if we went back the other way, the strange being might attack us. _

_"Well, well. What do we have here?" A soldier suddenly grabbed my shoulder, but I tug him off with all my strength. I was so scared I didn't realize what I did._

_He fell to the ground, hitting his head against a rock. Lucky shot, I guess._

_"Pinky!" I grabbed her hand again, but this time there was nowhere to run. _

_A soldier appeared in front of me, and I wasn't quick enough to stop. As I bumped into him, I let go of her hand as another soldier separated and restrained us. I didn't know why was this happening._

_"The Revolution is sending kids as spies? They have hit a new low." My restrainer said._

_"They found us even after separating from the main force. I guess they do have some talent." The other one said._

_Revolution? Spies? Words that I had never heard before tried to make sense in my head, but I couldn't settle my thoughts._

_I looked over to the girl, who was struggling to break free. Should I... Do the same?_

_I know she yelled something, and whatever it was made me react._

_I stomped on the soldier's foot, and even if it didn't harm him that much, it was the distraction I needed to tackle him to the ground and break free._

_He grabbed my foot as soon as I tried to get up but I kicked him in the nose, making him release me. As blood started to pour down his face, I started to get even more stressed._

_"You little...!" The other soldier threw Mein to the ground and tried to engage me with his sword._

_The skills my Master taught me passed in front of me like paper. I unsheathed my blunt sword, and hit his ribs with an uppercut. He hadn't thought of a kid being faster than usual, and fell to the ground gasping for air. _

_I realized the error I had made too late. In front of me five soldiers blocked my way towards the girl. I was scared, but I had gotten into this mess because I wanted to help her, and running away now would be meaningless. That's why I didn't lose the grip of my sword, as my master told me._

_"I don't want to kill a kid, but you leave us no choice." One of them said with a nasty grin._

_Those words made me nervous, and I subconsciously started to shake. I couldn't do it._

_"Wait a moment." I heard a feminine voice call them. Instantly they all relaxed their stances._

_"He managed to knock out two of my soldiers. Should I reprimand them for being handled by a kid, or perhaps..." Her blue eyes locked on me. She couldn't be more than seventeen or eighteen years, but just her glare made me froze where I was._

_My heart started to go even faster. I had never seen someone like her. I didn't know that just a mere presence could feel so intimidating. But just her aura gave me a clear reminder of what she could do. And believe me, I didn't want any of it._

* * *

"Tatsu? Are you back from the death? Because you look pale." Seryu's voice brought me back to reality.

"Ah, really? What's so bad about thinking...?" I could see my reflection in the tea. The waves distorted my image for a while, before stopping completely. That really shook me off...

"You just stare at the ground for literally five minutes. Haven't you realized?" She's joking, right?

"Don't exaggerate! I mean... maybe they have caught me off guard because of that but it wa-"

"You mean you start to think like that in the middle of a fight?!" She cut me off, taken aback by my words. What's so bad about it...?

"Well, yeah. I was wondering if I was doing the right thing. Again." Oh, one time I thought about Akame. That was pretty weird. If I tell her that she'll freak out.

"By the gods Tatsumi! Of course you're doing justice! Why do you need to remind yourself?" Says the one who yells justice every three minutes!

"Eh? Since... I don't know. I just think of the person's motives. Or mine's. And I get depressed." Seryu was more demolished by every word I said.

"You... You don't need to think about everything. Let your senses dominate more. That's what I do."

"You lost two arms."

"I don't think that matters. I thought you'd question me with something like 'That's why you kill people!' or 'Is that the reason you follow me all the time?' Well, no sir! I'm not going to let you say those things. A distinguishable young lady like me would never kill an innocent person! That would be against the law! Are you telling me I broke the rules?! How dare you accuse me of such things?!" As Seryu's voice grew in pseudo anger, I really thought several doctors would come in to take her away.

"I'm sorry for not saying those things?" I tried to calm her strange rant.

"I guess I forgive you. But you should think of what you... Haven't said." Seryu sniffed.

"Fine, fine. Let's just talk about something else." I said as I looked at the people walking through the streets.

"If you say so. What to talk about...? I heard you didn't get a promotion... But third time's the charm, right?" She said, trying to engage a conversation.

"Usually. But I don't think I'll get a third chance any time soon." I focused in the Imperial Palace, which dominated the scene. I feel tingly...

...Stupid melancholy. Appearing out of nowhere... I want to have some fun too! I want a damn filler scene where fun things happen!

"You're depressing." She crooned. "What's wrong? Are you really that upset over that?" Seeing her concerned about me just makes things worse!

"It's not that! It's just... that so much has happened through these months. And I think the ball of stress I had kind of exploded. Seeing you half dead set it off... More or less." Or because I had been stupid too many times. Huh...

"You don't need to worry about that. If I somehow were to die, probably everything would explode into smithereens!" She said it with such an emotive voice... That I didn't know if she was joking.

"Well, even then I would be grieving. You're my friend after all." I said as I took another quick sip.

"What would you do if I died?" Her voice was filled with curiosity, but her eyes were somber.

"Agh, why do you continue with this? Let's see... Probably I would go in a revenge spree until I somehow find whoever did it. That's what I did last t-" I bit down my tongue as I realized what I was saying.

I wasn't supposed to say that...

"Last time? Ah, sorry..." She stopped herself before saying anything else.

"Well... Why don't we do something else? This is my free day and somehow you are making it sad!" I gulped down the remnants of my tea and got up abruptly.

"Hey! You are the nostalgic one, don't shift the blame on me!" We locked eyes for a second, but I looked away as I realized something.

"Um... I kind of... don't have money." I started to say blushing with shame.

"... How did you expend it so fast?! Don't tell me you used it in the brothel." She exclaimed with a mocking tone.

"No I didn't! I just... send it away to my village. I just forgot that I have to live somehow. It's pretty funny, haha..."

"Sometimes I think you do it on purp- Don't tell me that's why you wanted me to come?!" Ehm... Silly me?

"Please, I'm a gentleman. I'm inviting you to invite me, so I can invite you in a future invitation." It seems that my persuasion skills are untouched! You won't ever see this kind of abilities somewhere else!

"You don't do this to a lady." I don't see one anywhere.

A waitress came afterwards, and she gave me wary look as Seryu gave her some coins. Now I feel bad. Everyone is against me today or what?

I feel her silently judging me. Ah! Remorse! My worst enemy. I have to make this up someway... What to do...

"What do you want me to do?" I started to talk, as we started to wander through the streets.

"Eh? For what?" She didn't seem mad but... I can never be so sure.

"Well, I have to please you in some way. I'll do whatever you want." She suddenly took a step back, surprised. I turned my upper body to see her strange reaction. What did I do?

"I didn't know you were so straightforward, Tatsumi!" She questioned me, like she just found out she had missed the last train to the moon. Maybe she doesn't want a slave.

"Eh? Ah! I see. Then should I just give you money?" I inquired. She blushed, as I just kept looking at her puzzled.

"I guess it's only natural...?" She mumbled. "But you can say those things to your nee-san! What do you think I am, a concubine?!" What is she yelling at me at?! I haven't called her a trampy...

Wait, what?

"What are you thinking?! I meant as a favor, you horny sister!" I yelled back at her. What the hell!

"... I... was merely testing you. That's right! Obviously if you have insisted more, I'd been forced to kill you! Many times. Forever." It was clear as water that she had messed up.

"You have shown your true colors! Ah! How could I believe such a bad woman?! I have been played by a pervert!" I said as I laughed manically.

"..." Ah yes... she's going to kill me for that.

Run! Run at the speed of sound!

* * *

I fell exhausted to the floor. My free day was supposed to be relaxing! Instead, I get to be beaten up. I'm surprised she didn't break me anything. She wasn't at her full strength, and luckily I was able to keep up for a while. I would have preferred doing something more... Never mind.

"Could you... get off me?" I said as I tried to break free from her grasp.

"You think I'm stupid? You won't move until you take back your words!" Crazy woman. Someday I'll take my revenge and everyone will love me.

"Fine, fine! I will call you nee-san over sister?!" She twisted my hand even more.

"Gah! You're not a pervert!" For the love of god, does she find pleasure in hurting people?!

"That was fun, wasn't it?" She released me. Her happy act reminded me again of how messed up she was. And for some reason I still like her.

"Yeah... Amazing. Could you... uh, move?" She slowly got up, but I took my time before doing anything.

What a strange feeling... I guess it's just exhaustion.

"Did I hurt you too much? I'm not really accustomed..." I didn't open my eyes, but her voice already told me everything.

"Not really. I'm just a bit exhausted. I just have to sleep a bit." I replied as I forced myself up. I moved my legs sluggish, before realizing something.

"Where... are we?" I said looking at the strange buildings.

The structures weren't made of stone, instead they were made of bricks. Normally they would be covered up with another material... The streets weren't so packed with people and obviously there weren't any shops around here. What did this remind me of...?

"You've never been here? It's just around the corner from the barracks. I passed a lot of times in these streets." Nostalgia started to fill the air. In contrast to her, started to feel distress.

"You... You mean, Captain Ogre patrolled this part?" I tried to not freak out. And tried doesn't mean accomplish.

"Yes... What are you so worried about? The soldiers here know me! In a good way! Most..."

Ah crap! Crap! Crap! If I need to defend myself here that means-

"Ah, right... Where is Koro?" I suddenly remembered that the little dog wasn't around. Did it have an indigestion? It wasn't a pleasant sigh to see it eating some legs. I can handle some gore things, but just the sound of bones and flesh being chewed was... cringing.

"It's a surprise. Imaging lots of explosions, drills and pure justice!" That sounds awfully a lot like Ame... mecha.

"I don't even want to ask. Is that flamboyant man doing it?" I remember seeing him when I was visiting her. He was... a very strange man. Even then, it seemed that Seryu really liked him for some reason.

"Yes! But now I'm in pain... you forgot about him and didn't even realize." Oh no, I realized. I was so happy I didn't even said it. Why do you think I asked you out? Wait, that sounds wrong. That wasn't a date at all.

"He just made a bad impression. It's not my fault." I answered her honestly. She looked a bit sorrowful, but she still smiled again.

"Next time he will save you and then you will be saying; Oh, great Koro, how could I not sense that beautiful justice face?!" She actually loves that freaking doggie. I can't see it.

"I bet... Let's get out of here!" I suddenly got serious, and took her hand carefully but firmly.

It was pretty cold... but somehow I still felt something warm. Oil conducts...? That was rather mean. Wait, how is she moving those arms... Don't think of that.

"What's wrong? You don't like this part?" I shook my head.

"I have a bad reputation with these men... I don't want to get into any trouble." I'm pretty sure they want to kill me.

And no, I'm not worried about dying, because I'm pretty sure they can't do it. I'm just worried that if I defend myself, the Empire is going to get all annoying. And that means double trouble.

"Why? You are a fine follower of justice! It's just your paranoid over thinking of everything." She tried to reassure me, but it wasn't that what scared me.

"Could you answer me question?" I said as I took another turn just in case. "If I tell you a very bad thing about me, would you still believe me? I'm saying this because I think I trust you enough."

"...What do you mean?" She didn't know. More like she didn't want to know.

I stopped running, as we reached the limits of those suburbs. I started to pant again, but it wasn't as bad as before.

"Back then... when Ogre found me and you helped me. He was right, I did kill some people in that mansion. But I swear, I am not with Night Raid. It was a coincidence." She looked at me like I was talking gibberish.

"I don't know the specifics, but I suppose I would lie too." I don't know if she is pitying me, or justifying my acts but...

"Ieyasu... One of my friends was killed by those people. I couldn't control myself and ended up killing three guards. When Night Raid attacked I ran away... and I couldn't pay my respects or even bury him."

For some reason, before I could even finish my story, she slapped me. And believe me, those damn metal arms freaking hurt!

"W-What was that for?! At least hit me after I finish!" I was more shocked than mad, though the same couldn't be said for her.

"No. Stop being so damn depressing! It's hard to believe that you aren't doing it in purpose!" She scolded me with her hands on her hips. I rubbed my cheek as she said those words.

"But it's true! It was my fault that-" I barely was able to dodge her hand. I didn't even say anything bad yet!

"What did I say? Stop being a stupid tragic protagonist and be happy!" She looked at her hand, trying to move her fingers in some way. "Just forget everything for at least one day, please."

I bit my lip as I realized what she was saying. This should be a happy day. Forgetting something for at least one day... can't be that bad. And what if all is going to hell? One day isn't going to change anything. If I have to tell these things to Seryu... I don't need to do it this day.

"Fine... Don't hit me. Maybe I have a weak mind, and I just think of all I have lost." I said as I pointed at my head. Maybe that's why I'm starting to think so strangely these days.

"Just think of it like... There's no going back, Tatsumi. I'm all you have now, so don't think of those pointless things. Truly, whatever happened was for the best. Weak mind or not, I'm still your nee-san. And you're strong. Or at least you will be." Cold arms enveloped me in a hug, tugging me closer, almost smothering me. I barely registered her hand her rubbing my back in a soothing manner.

I was caught off guard, maybe even a bit scared. She didn't really had that much experience with her prosthetic arms... And believe me, I had trouble breathing. However, it was warm. It was a warm I had felt before, but I don't know when. This nostalgia... wasn't sad. I guess it felt kinda nice.

"It isn't a hug if you don't return it." She whispered in my ear. We were about the same height, so that wasn't problem.

I couldn't make a fuss, so I just obeyed. I just laid my head to rest against her shoulder as my hands caressed her back.

Smiling, Seryu pulled me away momentarily. "See? We're like a little family." She giggled, pulling me back against her.

"You don't have to worry, it's fine like this. As long as I'm here, you won't have to think all those unpleasant memories."

Now she's making it weird. Would be much creepier if I didn't know her. I don't mind her being like this.

I hate that dog though...

* * *

After a... strange day of randomness, we went back to the barracks. I didn't really want to end so soon, but I couldn't really impose myself over her... That came out wrong. What I meant to say was to be more with her. It was nice knowing that below of her sense of justice, there's also a... more or less normal human being.

"Tatsumi, remember when I said those things about dying?" She suddenly asked me, as we entered the building.

"...Is that hypocrisy what I'm sensing? What about that whole not being depressing part?" She pouted, but answered.

"You are a horrible human." I know. "It's something I need to say before I forget it, just once." She moved her hand to reaffirm her point.

She got close to me as she started to whisper me. It was something I expected, but written in paper, not orally. I understood why she was saying those things, but it was pretty much impossible to happen.

"...Tatenokai? I don't know why tell me this. But if that's your wish." I muttered that word a few times over to remember it. I'll keep it in mind.

"Don't tell anyone. I haven't told anyone, so be more cheerful." It just made me feel uneasy. But I swallowed those words.

"Let's just change topics." I sighed. Why tell me this now... "Are you sure you don't want me to come? You aren't fully recovered."

"I'm just getting Koro back, nothing else. Injustice happens all the time." It has been a while since she last said those words.

Maybe cutting her hair has depleted her justice reserves. I don't know why, but even if the short hair suits her better, I kind of like long hair.

"Oh? Have I dazzle you with my new appearance? I hate to break your bubble, but I'm way out of your league!" She teased me, as if reading my thoughts.

"W-What? I was just being considerate!" Tsk, why is she doing this now?

Some minutes later, Seryu decided to leave and pick up the dog. I just found myself waving back at her even after she left.

I should have followed her. She does it all the time, so I don't think it would matter.

"I think she needs some wink wink, nudge nudge. Right, lieutenant?"I almost jumped as I looked over to my left to see Egu.

"I don't know what you mean, but don't address me like that. It's a free day after all." The sergeant scratched his head, sighing over something.

It was weird seeing him dress casually, but if you want to enjoy the little time that's left, why not in the most comfortable clothes you have?

"You look pretty good today. Is Justi... Seryu recovering?" If he didn't raelly care, he shouldn't ask. I obviously didn't say it.

"She is. Her willpower amazes me. I guess she still has to serve justice left and right." I said while I sat down in one of the benches of the entrance.

"I see... Do you know who is the new captain?" I stopped breathing for a second as I heard those words.

"Well... We can say that it won't be me. Even if I was the best option... I mean, they told me that. I don't want you to think that I'm arrogant." He sighed, but asked again.

"Seriously? What did you do?" Oh right. Not many people know of my... insubordination.

"I'm from the country side. Obviously they prefer some 'higher being' or stupid things like that..." I made up some excuse, and changed topics. "Do you know why there isn't any coffee?"

"Ah... I think the captain, the one who is dead, had some shady trading company. They sold coffee beans much cheaper than the others... Hey, maybe that's the reason he's dead." Strange... But makes sense.

The coffee beans are brought from some islands in the south. It's the only place where it can grow, but the weather is awful. Just getting to those islands is already a challenge, so the trade routes depend with the time.

"All the self-employed must have been suffering because of that... and the lack might provoke some riots. Don't underestimate the power of coffee, I guess." He nodded as I stretched my hands.

"I don't think there will be any. Esdese is in the capital." I looked at some of the soldiers passing in front of us. Everyone seems happy, I guess I had been sticking out because of that damned melancholy.

Wait, who?

"Esdese? I know that she is a general... How is she?" I just know that everyone is scared of that name. Or aroused, I can't remember which one.

"She is like... a devil in form of a beauty. I mean, she is like an A+ or someth-"

"I meant how strong is she! Not if she is beautiful or anything." He laughed as I replied. Why does every talk I have with them end up like this...

"I thought that you meant something else. She is literally the strongest in the Empire, how couldn't you know?" Eh? I haven't even heard her name until some days ago.

"That's scary..." That means she is stronger than Akame. And that is terrifying. Or maybe it's some lazy propaganda to convince idiots like me to not make an uprising.

"Ah, right. The weapons you ordered have already arrived. You're pretty weird for wanting those things."

Oh, it's true. I actually went and ordered some grenades and smoke bombs. I can't win against a teigu user, but I will use every cheap trick I have up in my sleeve to make at least a dent.

"Well, I just want to... Wait, why are we talking." I realized of the weird circumstances of our meeting.

"Uh? I was just about to leave, but I'm scared of that girl." He suddenly said.

"...Hey, Seryu is a gentle spirit. You probably did a bad impression on her." She is very polite to random people who haven't done anything. She even took care of... What was her name? Nea?

"Yeah right. I'm surprised that she hasn't suck your justice blood out. Or maybe that's why you are with her." Eh? I don't think there's a teigu that suck bloo- Oh... wait a damn second.

"I hope you aren't implying what I'm thinking. I'm _still _your superior." I felt a sense of superiority rising on me as I glared at him.

"A-Actually it was metaphorical. Y-You know, like a wolf pack following the scent of the prey? Still... you're starting to give me the same vibe. Even if it's just a tiny bit." He specified with his hands.

"Really? I don't have a creepy glare too when I fight, right?!" I don't even know how I look! Wait, why does that matter...

"Ah, nothing like that. It's something I can't put my finger on... But don't worry, you just have the usual poker face." That's great...

"What's poker? Scratch that. I have to take a walk. Have fun with your enthusiastic night trip.

"Remember that people want to kill you, but night is young, and I have better things to do." He got up from the seat, and stretched himself.

I looked with the corner of my eye how he left. Moments later, I left the building too.

I took a nice deep breath as I started to walk around like usual. I ignored the man who followed me every time since my... disciplinary punishment. He didn't do anything, he just kept his distance and watched me. Like a lookout.

It didn't bother me, though to tell the truth I wouldn't like to be alone. Even if it's a creepy dude...

But...

... Night is young and dark.

The darkness reminds of your eyes, even if you were the opposite. I think, that even if it's a little... that the wound in my heart is healing a bit.

Have I... replaced you? You would want me to keep going with my life, so it's fine. I'm not even in love or anything. I simply have started to like her the same way I did with you.

Seryu is... somewhat crazy, only that. She's a good person actually, I just think people misunderstand her. The only complain I have is that she should restrain herself of... yeling justice every three minutes, although she's been pretty good lately. And pretty much that.

Ah, before I forgot! She fought against two teigu users! By herself! She lost two arms but well, one was... I don't know, the girl version of Clock Tower.

But whatever, she isn't important! You know that girl, pinky? She's in Night Raid for some reason. It was a really strange meeting, but it just depressed me more. I don't really want to hurt somebody I know.

I can't be depressed over this, so I'll just end this.

Keep an eye on Ieyasu, and tell him that his wish is coming closer bit by bit. Oh, and when I meet with him again, I want to play 'poker'. Everybody is making a fuss over it, and I don't even know what's the big deal.

Until next time...

Remember that... I... Don't know how to feel.

* * *

"Nh..." I hear the birds chipping and slowly start to slip out of sleep. They only sing very early, so I still have some time before waking up.

I rolled over and tried to go back to sleep.

"Ah."

My shoulder touched something soft, and there's another noise. That didn't sound like birds.

Curious, I opened my eyes. The morning sun nearly blinds me.

"GAH!" I suddenly saw two black lifeless eyes staring at me, so I reacted naturally. Punching Koro out of my bed. WHAT? Those eyes were staring right into my soul!

"Did we... Wake you up?"

I'm stunned by what I see with my sleepy eyes and stiffen.

"..."

The sun is brilliantly shining through the window, surrounding Seryu with a halo like glow. She was sitting in the border of my bed, trying to make as little sound as possible.

"Ah... Good morning." She sheepishly said.

"...Morning."

What is happening. A dream? Wait, a good dream?! Wait a second... Why the hell was that dog I'm dream.

"It's embarrassing if you stare me like that..." I said as I quickly looked away. I just woke up and she is just looking at me, like I had... Oh.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as I tried to find something to look at. Where did that dog go?

"Well, I was just checking on you and you looked so cute sleeping that I couldn't resist." She said gleefully.

"Wait... you couldn't resist to put a dog in my bed. How is that cute?! It scared my soul and bones!"

"I thought you would want to puke, so Koro would clean it up." That sounds disgusting. Why would I throw up anyways? I don't drink!

"Wait why would I puke?" My eyes grew accustomed to the light as I tried to hide myself in the blankets. Why does my hand feel like water...

"AH! It's trying to eat me!" I looked how Koro had my whole right hand in its mouth, trying to lick it or something. Now that I remember, didn't he eat those legs of- OH GOD, DON'T TOUCH ME!

"See? He likes you." DON'T JUST STAND THERE.

"At least wash his mouth or something!" I said as I managed to get my hand out of his mouth thingy. It was like liquid pumice, and believe me it was a cringe worthy experience.

"But he's so happy though!" She snapped from her trance and picked up the small dog.

... He may be cute, but it's just that... Chills.

"...Wait a second, were you watching me sleep? Why are you even here?! I always lock the door!" She looked at me like I had said something wrong. Don't give me that look.

"Koro entered through the window, and I said; Oh, I'll have to pick him up. So I somehow got a copy of your key and entered!" Somehow? SOMEHOW?! And what do you mean he entered?! He isn't that tall!

"And what's the real reason...?" She faked surprise as she placed her hand on her chest.

"Oh, how can't you believe your nee-san?! And thinking all the times I saved your life... is this how are you going to repay me?! I mean, it's not like I threatened that underling of yours several times! It was legitimately self-defense! See?! I haven't done anything wrong." Everything you just said didn't make sense.

My bones cracked as I stretched myself. I actually had a good night. The best in several months... But now I have things to do.

I got up from the bed and slowly crawled my way over to my uniform, which was hooked in hanger.

"Could you... leave for a moment?" I said while I rubbed my eyes. There should be... work or something...

A mission... I think I'm forgetting important things... Bah forget, forget, forget. If it was really important, I wouldn't have forgotten it. Let's think about another verb like... remember. Yeah, that could be a sad verb too.

I think coffee would be the best thing t- Ah, crap. There isn't any.

"... You haven't move yet, have you?" To my surprise, she really had listened to me. She was nowhere to be seen. That or she's under the bed...

...

Nothing.

And window... GAH, SUN.

Well, time to get into serious mode.

I put on my uniform, complemented with my beautiful white coat. I love this color. It's kind of sad really, because I would want a peaked hat to look a bit more professional...But I would probably lose it somewhere in the middle of a fight. Unless it has glue in it...

I should probably stop by the armory and grab those smoke bombs... If that girl escaped using one, I want to do the same. The grenades are to make the triple swindle. Like; smoke, smoke and BANG in your face! It was actually a grenade!

Oh, I can see it now...

Gorgeous.

Of course, it's not going to work. But I can dream. Yes... I can feel it. And by those words I mean I don't feel it.

I don't feel anything, for real. And that is good. Every time I woke up I felt this faint restrain in my chest, but I don't feel it today. You could say that I am... happy. Well, maybe that's too much. I'm in a good mood seems much less farfetched.

After a quick glance, I sheathed my sword in my back. I'm ready for a new day, even if it's early.

I opened my door without too much effort. It was a bit loose actually. I knew it was unlocked because Seryu came in... but she just broke the handle too, didn't she?

"Ko-ko-ro-su!" What is she singing...? Death songs or what?

The hallway was pretty much empty, something normal for this time of the day. Normally the roll call would be in... ten minutes or so? I don't have a watch, but it's somewhere around that mark.

"Don't you have better things to do?" I mumbled as I tried closing the door. It won't... give in!

"Eh? Even if I wanted, I'm still in recovery." You still have the strength to beat the crap out of me...

"So... no sporadic justice spree? This must be a new record! Let me call the 0 squad and they'll mark this great accomplishment in the history books! Nee-san isn't so crazy anymore!" Ah, I remember the days were I didn't have the 0 squad.

"Oh my god... You called me...!" W-What did I say? Why is she slowly approaching me like that.

Oh... I called her that? Why is she getting so happy?! It's just a word! She's going to break my ribs!

She caressed my head lightly, making sure she didn't pull my hair. Even if I prepared myself for a lot of pain, it seemed that she had actually learnt from yesterday. My back is actually crying of happiness right now.

"Em... It's just a name..." You can stop... You're trigger happy with loveliness or what...

Moments after, she pulled her arm back without losing her usual smile. Usual...? It seems different. And it's making me uncomfortable.

"Fine, fine. Don't tell me you wanted something else? Oh my, the youth these days..." She scolded me teasingly, eyes widening dramatically.

"I wasn't saying that, I obviously like it when... Oh clever girl. You make me say the strangest things, eh?"

"It's fun to tease you. Perhaps I'll keep that image of you blushing head to toe." She suggested lightly, winking at me while I tried stay focused.

"Lieutenant! The commander is requesting your... assistance." A chill ran down my spine as I looked to my left, seeing a clearly surprised Egu.

"W-What? So early?" The first words that I thought blurted out of my mouth. I lightly pushed aside Seryu and regained my composure. So... awkward is my second name.

"Ah... Yes, we don't have a captain so he's going to appoint somebody. Besides, yesterday while I was in..." His talk was stopped as Seryu started to reprimand him.

"You don't talk to your superiors like that, you didn't even salute! Haven't you taught him modals, Tatsumi?" She said lowly, almost serious, and folded her arms in front of herself.

"Eh? It's not that important. In any case, he isn't a dog and I actually have things to do." I simpered as I looked at her.

She just sighed, but didn't leave. My sergeant was even more stressed than before, from that fact.

"What are you doing? I want to know what's happening." She started to follow us, not losing the grip in my arm...

She's just doing it to make me uncomfortable, eh?

We started to walk, silently, something keeping us from talking.

The commander wasn't in the barracks, someone so high in the food chain couldn't be in some random building. We had to go to the central military building of this district, which meant that we needed permission.

Districts are very big, so in case of an attack, they can act independently like this. This also means that taking one district down will only cause more problems, as it means that the Imperial guards should attack, and that's a no no.

Not to mention that even if you manage to conquer the outer wall, there are still two walls more to take down before reaching the palace.

The capital has never fell in a siege, not even in the civil war from three hundred years ago. And this is the reason I decided to take down the Empire from inside, and not with some random group. I'm not going to be the one to break that tradition...

What was I doing again...? Ah right, the commander.

After being able to enter the building, Seryu and Egu had to wait as I got my orders. Unlike last time, I didn't feel oppressed by the aura of this man.

The room wasn't very fancy, but it was definitely better than what we had back there. The windows lighted everything perfectly, not leaving a space with darkness. The furniture were made of mahogany, even if they looked a bit old.

Speaking of old, the commander definitely wasn't in his best days, but if he had reached this age in the army it meant that he was very experienced... Or he had just paid to not do anything at all.

He had a lot of hair... too much hair.

"Tsk, so you're the traitor? I thought you would be... something else." His voice was scrapped, probably from yelling.

"...If you think so. What is the briefing?" I can kill him. I-I mean, I can run if I need to.

"You are really begging to die, eh? First off... the official mission." He sat down in his desk, and grabbed what I think it's an essay.

"A caravan is sending rice to the northern parts of the capital. Of course, this is obviously a smokescreen to a much intricate plot. The officials carrying this package must be dealt with and bring the precious cargo back to the capital." That's... easy... I guess I hoped for too much. Unless...

"What's the catch?" My sixth sense is tingling.

"You're a smartass, eh? Do you want me to spoil the fun? You must be pretty smart to still be alive, don't you think?" I felt my throat drying as soon as I heard those words. Does it mean that...?! "Who could be the perfect person but you, the one who took down Zank?"

This is obviously a trap. They want to kill me, don't they? If this was really important, then the Empire would send teigus, not a stupid soldier who might or might not have killed Zank.

"...You mentioned that this was the official mission. What's the other one?" I moved slightly to regain the heat that I lost before. The commander let out a small laugh.

"You'll head to the outskirts, to a small village who keeps in check the trade. It's important there, and there's a certain book the Empire needs. The Voynich manuscript." What... what the hell is that?

"The... Voynich manuscript." I repeated. "And of course, there's going to be a load of guards or teigus, right?" I argued back.

"Actually, not. You need to steal it." That doesn't make sense.

"I... don't understand. I'm sure there is somebody else more adequate than me." A poacher or some random skilled spy. Why should I do that? It doesn't make sense.

"Find a book dealer's shop, and try to... persuade him into giving it to you. Unless you want to leave this life the short way?" Is that supposed to sound intimidating?

"Oh? You mean those guards back there? I can clear this building in two minutes, I don't think you're in the position to threaten me." A small smirk made his way into my face, as my hand moved towards my sword.

"Don't worry, though. I'll get the damn book and the cargo in no time." I said as I waved my hand.

"Bring them before tomorrow." He said as I vein popped in his forehead. "Nobody else can see or find the manuscript. You must do it yourself."

Which means... that they want me separated from the main force? Why would they want that...?

"Get out before I call the Varengian guards, you won't be so cheeky with them." Sneaky idiot, as if that would matter.

Oh wow, I actually threatened him without no consequences... At least not direct ones. I'll find the Voynich? Manuscript and I have confidence that-

No, no, no. He implied that... teigu users would be there. Night Raid? I heard they killed some respected politicians but... Why would they start spreading those lame fliers? In any case, if they encounter them, I don't know what will happen. Can I just risk that chance...?

"Excuse me." I turned around and left the brilliant office.

"So, what's the mission?" Egu asked as soon as I appeared from the door. Seryu looked at me while holding Koro.

I... cannot send Egu and the others to a possible death. This smells and tastes like rotten eggs, an unknown 'cargo' and kill some officers. And for some reason, Night Raid will be there. No, they won't go without me. Screw the damn manus-

"Your onee-san sees your stressed face, Tatsumi. Come on, tell me." She approached me little by little with every word. Why is she doing this on public...

"It's nothing... your face is too close." I pushed her away as she was almost upon my face.

"You weren't like that when you attacked the Red District... But you had the same face when you went to fight Zank." Her face lightened as she came into realization.

"Don't make those assumptions." Crap, if she figures it out...! "It's just that I have to do another mission, and I didn't want to leave them on their own."

Please, buy it. Pretty please!

"Hm, I would be stressed too seeing how this random soldier #1 talks to you." Ouch, double edged sword. At least I dodged the bulle-

"Do you want me to accompany them? It's a justice treatment special!" She said with all her good heart.

"Don't tell me she's going to-" Egu was shot down with another death glare from Seryu.

"It's not necessary!" I hissed under my breath as everything seemed to go wrong.

Seryu cannot see Night Raid again. She barely survived last time, and I won't let her attack them alone. I need to talk her out somehow...!

"I mean... shouldn't you get, uh, Stylish's approval first? He should have the last word, right?" That's right! If she does that, I'll have enough time...!

"I feel with my feet that you're hiding something... But I guess you're right." Oh thank god.

"Em... the mission...?" Egu muttered trying to not get in more trouble with Seryu.

"Shut it. Then give me some hours! I want to see a bit of the outside world again!" She says it like it's a big deal. I've lived in the country most of the time... so for her it must be incredible...

"Egu come here for a second." He approached me and got into whisper range.

"As soon as she leaves, gather everyone and leave ipso-facto. We both win with this. What do you think?" Happy times for everyone?!

"... Fine." I smiled and placed my hands on my hips.

"Then let's go!"

We left the building after some time, trying to fake that nothing was going wrong.

"Hey, Tatsumi." She turned around and patted my head once again. "Thanks for letting me go! I honestly thought you would stop me."

You mean it would have worked?! Son of a-

"Just... put your life above anything else." I sighed loudly. Even if I plan to leave her here, I need to act a bit, right? Besides... It's not like I'm lying.

I saw with the corner of my eye the sergeant stiffening, hearing my words.

"And obviously keep an eye in these guys. Maybe you'll find the actual cannibal superstar." Creepy guy if I say so myself!

She tightened her grip on Koro out of excitement, like a child who had found his favorite candy.

"Loove you!" I turned around pretending I didn't hear her words. Why does she mock me in the worst of the times...!

Me too...

* * *

**Meanwhile, somewhere else...**

"Akame...? Are you ready?" I said as I stretched myself. I have to make Najenda proud of my mission. Everybody wants some achievements!

Her red eyes looked at me for a moment, and nodded as she took a last glance at Murasame.

"...Let's go." She indicated with her usual monotone voice.

"Shouldn't you... wear something else? We are going to the north..." She turned around robotically, like an alien from a manga.

"...You always wear the same clothes." Gah! What the hell does she mean?!

"I meant a coat or something! You'll get a cold like that."

"Ara? Our little Raba is trying the old; I'll give you my jacket move. Will it work this time?" I heard Leone narrating at the end of the hallway. I can feel her smile from over here...

"The hell are you doing back there?! Go spy Esdese or something!" I yelled back at her. I wasn't doing that! Why does everyone laugh of what I do?!

"I have more fun watching your lame one liners!" Ah no! You don't insult my freaking monologues! You know how hard it is to think one of them?!

I applied pressure in my right palm with the index finger. This whole area is filled with my threads which means...

As soon as I felt the speed of the strings slow down, I clenched my fist and pulled back. Leone fell to the ground almost immediatley.

That's what you get!

"RABAC! I'M GOING TO FIND YOU! AND I'LL KILL YOU!" Oh fuck.

"L-Let's get going , Akame-chan." I practically pushed her along. it would help a bit if you moved your legs!

* * *

**Haha... remember when I said short chapters? Sorry about that. I just thought that it woud be waste to have Tatsumi do nothing for two chapters.**

**Anyways... somebody realized what nosocomium means. I meant it in a metaphorical way, don't worry! ****These reviews have really brought me strength to release this freaking chapter!**

**It was a nice change to write something happy, even I start to get depressed when I write Tatsumi so... sad. And before somebody says it...I don't actually like Seryu. I just made her more appealing for the sake of the story. I still think she's cute though.**

**I should actually answer one thing though. Esdese or Mein? The answer is yes. ;)**

**And that last part of the chapter... it's a POV that you'll see a lot.**

**And as always. Thank you very much to everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed the story! This couldn't have reached this part without all of you!**

**Like I'm a nice guy... The next chapter is called: _The threads of destiny._**

**Love you all!**


	8. The Threads of Destiny

**See? Short, but intense chapter.**

* * *

"Don't tell me it's going to rain..."

I looked up to see the gray clouds heading towards this direction. I should have used a horse or something, because 'outskirts' of the capital my ass. Why don't just kill me in the streets?! It would be much easier!

Calm down, Tatsumi. You woke up all happy today, and this stupid mission ruined it all. I hate this job... I can't wait to get a promotion to do absolutely nothing. Oh, wait. I won't get a promotion, because the Empire hates me!

"Voynich manuscript..." I made sure to pronounce it correctly, so my tongue wouldn't forget. It's that kind of name you'd remember only the first word. Unless you have repeated it two hundred times.

Two hours. Two freaking hours remembering that name. I had to follow this damn canal to reach the trading post I was told about, and believe me, seeing that brown water doesn't make me very happy.

Well, I had to pass through the Marina and saw this huge ship. It was pretty awesome in the distance, at least. Maybe I should have taken it to reach this damn place!

Oh wow, I'm really mad about something. It's all because the weather. Yeah, the weather... Why don't you send those stupid clouds another day?! Stupid mother nature...

And...it seems I'm approaching the trading post. This path is starting to get a bit more congested with these caravans. It's pretty easy to distinguish which ones carry more important stuff like... those soldiers who are guarding that carriage.

I was following the public roads made by the Empire. I must say, they did a pretty good job connecting every part of their territory. These roads are made of smooth stone... which makes it very pleasant for the feet. And I don't have to pay...

"Unless they're taking my taxes!" Wait, am I paying taxes? I guess they take it from my salary... Or not and I'm a delinquent.

As if that would matter! I'm sure the punishment for betraying is much worse than whatever they do to debtors.

Shame on them, I have a sword.

I should really stop thinking about murdering everyone. It's all Seryu's fault, alright?!

"Gah!" I accidentally bumped into a person as I was going on with my inner monologue. Fortunately, none of us fell to the ground. We just stared awkwardly at each other.

"S-Sorry! It was my fault." I quickly apologized. He was carrying a small bag, probably medicine, but what most drew my attention was the blue jacket he was wearing. Hm... blue.

"Don't worry. It's my fault too, I was thinking my own things..." He also apologized, but it seemed that something caught his attention. "Erm... You are from the army, right? Could you answer me something?"

How does he...? Oh right, totally forgot about that insignia in my coat. What could he need...?

"Well, yeah. You want to join too?" It wasn't the first time somebody like him asked me that. In any case, I don't mind.

"Ah, no, no. I'm actually in the Imperial Navy." That could explain why he smells like salt. Can't say that though. "How are things... in the capital?" Something told me this question was a tricky one... but his casual way of asking just makes it more strange.

"...Depends where you are. I don't know in every corner, but in my district we try to be helpful. However... things are pretty bad. Zank... well he's dead, but Night Raid... and even the own government it's making the situation worse than what already is." I answered honestly. Even the Empire can't cover that up.

"...The government too?" It seemed like he was pretty surprised by my words. Just what did he want...?

"Well, it's needless to say that... I'm sorry, but why are you asking? The Navy doesn't get updates or what?" If I continued talking, I would really end up dead. Better to end this conversation.

"Eh? Being in a frigate doesn't really help, but I guess I did sound suspicious..." He nodded to himself as if reassuring something. "I was thinking of taking a trip to the capital, but seeing how you depict it... I guess I'll wait a bit."

Wise choice.

"... If for some reason you go, head towards the Cloud district and I'll guide you. Believe me, it's very easy to get lost." Ah, the memories. I didn't know where to go, I saved some girl and... that happened.

"I'll take up that offer, but I don't think I'll go unless something bad happens." He confessed with a sad smile.

"Oh, then I hope we never meet again!" I jokingly said as I scratched the back of my head. Please, get the sarcasm...!

"In that case this is a goodbye, stranger!" We both shared a small laugh before parting our ways.

What a nice guy... Why couldn't more people be like him? Besides... I want that jacket. I don't really like blue though...

Some minutes after, I spotted a small settlement. This should be a trading post, but it's bigger than my village. No, bigger isn't enough to describe it. It's at least my village multiplied by three.

"Halt!" A soldier appeared in front of me, in front of the wooden gate.

And it's that a guard house?! This is a hundred times better than my village!

Right, I need permission to enter. Can I pull the Lieutenant card on this one...? I obviously can't yell like a jackass that I'm on a secret mission.

"What is your purpose here, lieutenant?" He asked with wary eyes. Totally forgot I had that insignia out.

"I could tell you, but then you know what would happen." I joked trying to find a good excuse.

"It's not like I care. You can pass." The guard nodded to some soldiers in the background, and the two lancers stood aside as I entered the fortified village.

Before doing anything else, I hid the emblem in one my pockets to be all sneaky. Just in case.

It seemed that houses had started to be built in this place, making the trading post look more like a small town. They even have a town square. But aside from the blacksmiths and merchants, I can't see a bookstore or anything like that. Perhaps if I look in the tavern or something... I can get some info.

This looked like the main street, as it was pretty much packed. I could see that there were even farmers here... probably to trade their products...is this little place so important...? I mean, it's surely much easier than going to the capital but...

Books!

An old lady was sitting outside a shop, probably hers, with a pile of books at her side. Could this be it...?

I approached her calmly, like I was passing by.

"Excuse me, are these books for sale?" I mentioned pointing at them. She scanned me with her tired eyes before smiling softly.

"They are, young man." I sighed relieved as I heard those words.

The pile of books was filled with all kinds of books... I remember reading some of them as a child... Or somebody told them to me... In any case, I don't know what I'm searching for.

"Um... do you have something called, the Voynich manuscript?" She looked through the pile of books, but then raised her head as if remembering something.

"Was it... illegible?" Eh... Eh...? Maybe? Perhaps it is? "A man bought a manuscript before... he also mentioned a similar name." Wait, what?!

"Could you please tell me where that man went?" Even if I can't confirm it's the same manuscript... I cannot let this chance go to waste!

She raised her extremely thin hands, and pointed towards the center of the small town. Before I started running, I grabbed some of the money that Seryu lent me for... obvious purpose, and gave it to the nice old lady.

It was probably much more than what she would earn selling those books.

The sounds started to fill my head, but after being in the capital for so much it wasn't a problem. I tried to look for a man carrying a book, probably shady or something. I have to steal the book of apocalypse!

This is exciting! This challenge is beginning to feel more intricate...! And this just calmed my crazy spikes from before! Well, that guy calmed me too... I guess.

I opened my way through the crowd of people, but I couldn't make out anything. Maybe I can climb a building and...

Suddenly, like a sudden halo of light pointing my direction, I saw a man with a notebook. No, it wasn't a notebook, it looked pretty old and... Wait I know that guy.

"You are...!" He smiled as he saw me, and entered a building.

I know who he was. Just what the hell are you doing here... Master?!

I quickly made my way through, and entered the same building. This... is a tavern. And pretty lively too. But no matter. I have to find him...!

As opposed to the Red District, I could actually breath and move... without having any trouble. Yes, there was people drinking, but at this time of the day none of them were drunk... yet.

"Yo, Tatsumi." I turned around to see an average looking guy, probably in his forties. He was sitting next to a table, and pointed to the chair opposed to him.

So he wants me to sit down? What in the world...?

" What are you doing here? Came back from buying tobacco?" I felt slightly annoyed, instead of happy. He literally just banished from the village. Not a goodbye, not a farewell letter. Nothing, he just disappeared. And now he's just sitting here, with the book I'm trying to get.

"Come now, that's not how you talk to your master. You used to be a great pupil." Oh no, don't you pull that card on me.

I sat down in the chair in front of him. This was going to be a long talk...

"Want something to drink?" He offered off-handedly. I looked around the tavern, but even with all these people, we could talk peacefully.

"No." The Empire... asked me to find him. Here he is... "You are in the Revolutionary Army, right?"

He waved his hand, as if denying the fact. But the answer was completely the opposite.

"Well, duh. I know you aren't the smart type, but I thought you could have figured it out." Did he just call me stupid?

But now that he says it... he said he was a retired soldier. He never mentioned his past adventures... or even his name. However, how the hell was I supposed to know that there was a Revolution at the time?!

"The girl... Sayo, was it? She was the rational one of the group. I'm surprised you three are separated." He mentioned, closing his eyes. He reminded me of an old man remembering his past.

I didn't say anything. Is he an enemy? Is he a friend? I can't tell what he is trying to do.

"I... just came alone." I lied looking at him straight in the eyes. Even with eyes closed, I know I can't let my guard down to him.

"... You were always very easy to read Tatsumi. When did it happen?" He opened his eyes again. Was he concerned? Or was he trying to reopen an old wound?

Did... my voice tone give him a hint?

"..." I maintained my silence once again, unsure on how to react.

"I guess that's the reason you have joined the Imperials. You had very strong ideals in the past, you cannot have lost them so quickly. I bet you joined because you didn't know about the Revolution, eh?" He said with a mocking tone.

"It's not my fault. Why do you think... Why do you think that even if I knew about the Revolution I would join? I don't know what the hell they're trying to do, apart from taking out the Empire. Just because they're an alternative, makes them better? For all I know, they could be just trying to implement another tyranny." I argued back. A small smile appeared on his lips.

"Well, well, well. You are smarter than I thought, after all. You did good in not believing something just right off the bat. How about this then? Tell me what you're trying to do in the Army, and I'll tell you about the purpose of the Revolution." He cracked his knuckles, probably because of a fixation.

I suppose I could tell him... I mean, he isn't aligned with Empire, so I don't think it will be a problem.

"...I'm trying to become a General and force the Emperor out." He sighed as he heard my words.

"You know, you made yourself a fool again. Do you know of General Najenda? Probably not. She rose up against the Empire and... Let's just say that she lost and arm, and half of the army." I felt a small pain in my stomach in response to those... facts.

"What... What happened?" I said in disbelief. But... there are three main armies, why revolt with just one?

"Esdese happened. As long as she and the great general are still around, your plan won't happen. If it really was that easy, we would have already done that." He crossed his arms, like he was a professional.

Great General Budou... and General Esdese.

That... is a good argument. But if that's the case, I have to be stronger and smarter than those two. Or get them to join my side...

"Then what's the revolution's great plan? Night Raid must be taking out strong opponents little by little... What will happen if they succeed?" I leaned against the table, because I wanted to hear him clearly.

"We will implement a government for the people. We want people to be free, to be able to govern the Republic." Republic...? Something that is very public?

"Em... that means that people will be able to choose a ruler?" I asked, not very sure.

"More or less. You're a fine example of why we can't do that immediately." What does he mean?

"The people are ignorant, Tatsumi. If they are ignorant, they will be easily controlled by some opportunist. They will bring their own demise like that. Until they have receive a proper education... we won't be able to do that."

"But... that would take a lot of time! There aren't any schools... much less qualified people! That would take at least...!" He cut me off with a quick snap of his fingers.

"A generation or two. That is why at least... the first fifty years an aristocracy will be in charge." The whole population educated in fifty years? Can that even be possible?

"Aristocracy? That isn't too far of what we're getting right now." He laughed at my confusion.

"Don't misunderstand. Aristocracy means rich people yes... but I'm saying rich people from here." He pointed his forehead.

He means... some wise men or something?

"They will act for the interest of everyone. But as I have said, that would take a lot of time... We need to take down the Empire as soon as possible. That is why I'm asking you for help. Join the Revolution, Tatsumi. Together, everything will be much smoother. I've seen your strength first hand, and our army needs strong people like you."

Join.. the Revolutionary Army? After all I have suffered to be a lieutenant... after all I have lost just to get there, he's telling me to flee?

"You claim that people need to be free. I agree with that idea. I am not a politician, but you just contradicted yourself. You want to control the people for at least fifty years... just so they can be free? People are ignorant? Yes, but what makes you think that the education they will receive will be any good? Besides... there will be much more problems. But if it happens..."

Be controlled... to be free? That doesn't make sense. A lot can happen in fifty years and... how do I know that they won't be fed some strange ideals?

"It's your option, Tatsumi. We'll receive you with open arms... but as long as you're in the enemy's side... you know what could happen. And because you've been nice kid, I'll tell you something. Stay away from teigu users. I'm sure you don't want to be kill because you were in the wrong place." He handed me over the book I was searching for. This is... the Voynich manuscript. The freaking cover has some letters that reassemble the word Voynich.

"... I've already came out alive of two encounters with Akame. I think I'll be fine."I said as I opened the book...

The hell is this? it has pictures of flowers... what kind of language is this... and is that woman taking a bath? And this is... the moon? What the hell is that dragon?!

"Have a nice day. I hope you join us soon." He got up from the chair, and I lost sight of him in the crowd of people.

...

If I join them... will Ieyasu's dying wish... become true?

* * *

**Somewhere in the north of the capital...**

"Look at that... The good guys giving away rice. That's pretty cliché." I said, trying to engage a conversation with Akame. It normally never works.

But being in the top of a tree really makes you want to talk. It's pretty calm... the threads aren't making any move.

"The amount should lift the people's spirits... and my hunger." She calmly said.

How is she able to be hungry in the middle of a mission?! Good thing I've brought this...

"I'll give you this, but I'm counting on you when the enemy comes." Luckily I know how to be with Akame. And that means having snacks everywhere you go.

She looked at the chocolate bar I offered, before BITING MY FINGERS.

"That is my good hand! Don't leave me scarred for life!" I was barely able to set free my right hand.

The lack of licking surprises me... never mind. It's not like I want her to... Eh... At least she didn't screw up the positions of the threads...

I raised my right arm in order to feel every thread... I usually make two groups of wires in a forest. The ones I control with my right hand are used to gather movements... and with my other hand I use them to move around.

And if I get involved in a fight... everything counts. I'm not exactly... strong, but I'm sure I can outsmart most of my enemies. The only pastime I have is reading books and mangas... Besides spying. Persons. Always girls. Most likely in a bathroom. Probably naked.

"I guess they aren't showing up." I mentioned. We had been waiting for some hours... and nobody came.

"Stay on guard." You know, for being expressionless most of the time, you can really tell when she truly means something.

"Rog-" I shut my mouth as I felt the threads moving. Ah shit, not again.

"What happened?" She gulped down the bar of chocolate and got up from the tree branch.

"Six... ten... At least fourteen persons... No, judging by the strain, or they are really fat people or soldiers." And we know fat people don't go on enthusiastic walks in a forest. Normally at least...

"This could be a distraction to draw us out." I said, as I tried to pinpoint the localization of those soldiers. Damn it... The two of us haven't fought alone in a long time. I hope our synchronization is still fine.

"... It could be a patrol. But If we aren't careful..." She explained briefly. Yes... I can feel the tension in the air, and in my hands.

"I'll go check it out." They are in the southern area... The path towards the capital is there but... isn't that too obvious? Attacking from the main path isn't very smart.

"If you are attacked, I won't know. I'll go, and if you feel a battle, come immediately." She reassured the grip of her sword and started to jump from tree to tree.

Your cryptic messages are cold. Not even a chance to say anything... That's out of character even for you. She must be stressed too... The Three Beasts are a serious threat. And if we don't find them here... it means Bulat and the other will be on trouble.

But I wouldn't be an assassin if I wasn't used to this. Remaining calm is one of the required qualities. It's not like I had to pass a test, but the logic is strong in that one.

Hm... Akame is still moving to the south. This forest isn't very big, I'd say it would cost three or four minutes to pass it at full speed. We were in the eastern part, so it would take about two min-

"Another one?" I whispered as I sensed more movement in the north. Only one person... but he's even more heavy than the other group. I knew it was too easy.

It's one minute away... But I can't let them get too close. That person is heading to the south. If they're trying to try a pincer move, they're falling pretty hard.

...

I'll just check what the hell is it. They could have divided to surprise us... I can't let that happen.

I used some threads to propel my way around, making as little sound as I could. The snow was making it worse, since every time I stopped it fell to the ground. Thanks mother nature, you're being a real prick today.

I stopped in a tree branch, since I spotted a figure standing out from the white snow. There he... she is.

"...pid, don't you think?" Is she talking to somebody? No matter, the Three Beasts are all male so... Unless their teigus can change male into female...

That is pretty stupid to think even for me. But teigus are stupid in a sense.

"Tatsumi will be very mad... those idiots left without me." I was about to leave when I heard that name...

Ah, isn't that person Mein's childhood boyfriend or something? Reminder; Tease her more about that.

Gears started turning when I saw that figure in the snow. It was also white, but the black ears gave it away... My threads couldn't pick something so small... this girl is...

"Tsk..." I clicked my tongue when I realized who she was... She isn't someone I can face in my current condition. But if she's here... Fuck, everything will go to shit!

Both Akame and me might be able to take down the Three Beasts, but adding her to the equation just ruins fucking everything!

Something made me lose my balance. Why is the sky green...?

Oh shit... she found me, didn't she? STUPID SNOW!

I have to play dead...!

I used some threads to make my fall not lethal, and even if the ground was pretty cold, it didn't hurt that much.

"What do we have here? A normal citizen wouldn't be climbing trees, you know. It's pretty dangerous because if you fall... Oops..." Did she seriously just throw me off a tree to tell me I shouldn't do that? Right, I need to stop the blood flow.

I felt cold hands shaking me for a moment, and almost immediately I heard a yelp.

"Oh no... Oh no, no, no, no...! Have I kill an innocent man?! I couldn't have done that! Right Koro?!" She didn't even check my pulse. What could I expect from a crazy woman? Then again, I don't know if she can feel anything.

"W-W-What is dad going to say?! Oh god, what is Tatsumi going to say?!" That name again... And Najenda said we could have recruited him. Not anymore. I don't want somebody affiliated with this psycho.

"We... We didn't do anything, right? N-Nothing will happen if there's no body!" I don't like where this is going...

"Koro, eat him!" Fuck.

As I heard the teigu mutate, I used some threads to lift myself and gain some distant. Damn it, if she has seen my teigu, I'll have to run.

"How... I see... a teigu..." I felt her murderous intent skyrocket into the sun. She knows, huh?

"It's a shame to find another of you murderers here! But justice never sleeps!" A shame...? Why? "And that is why... in the name of the absolute justice, you will pay for your sins!"

Akame hasn't reached the destination yet. If it turns out that it's actually a patrol, I'll lure this girl to her, and make the odds even. But for now...

This whole forest is filled with my strings. She is in my territory, and I have somebody back in the base to live for! This won't be my last day!

I just have to stay alive long enough...

"Koro! Number Five!" ...Mine didn't told us anything about that... A new ability?

Whatever it was, I didn't want her to activate it. As soon as I saw the dog jump and bite her robot -like arms, I punched the air maintaining a good grip in the threads I selected.

A handful of threads grabbed the teigu's small body, and with the power of pulleys I tried launching him away. If this was a one on one, it would be much better...!

It didn't work as I had planned. The dog hit one of the many trees, and managed to stay in the battle.

Now I see what she meant with number five... It's a fucking giant drill.

She rushed over to me, clearly enjoying what was going to happen... if I didn't act.

But first off... How the hell is that thing inside the dog?!

I clenched my left fist to move even more wires towards her neck, before she reached me. If I hadn't set up all this defenses before, it would have been much harder to do this.

"Gotcha!" I pulled back my arm, and tensed the threads. I reluctantly watched how the threads made their way towards her neck.

All the force she had spent to reach me was used against her, making the strain even worse. If I could break her throat now...!

Sadly, I had to loosen my grip and jump away... because the drill was flying towards me. It detached...!

I barely had time to catch my breath as I spotted something in the corner of my eye.

Out of reflex, I set up a barrier of wires. They were messy, without a clear pattern but it was all I could do in less than two seconds.

The teigu had made his way over to me, and the barrage of punches were clumsily stopped with my last chance barrier.

The strain almost ripped off my arms, but I had been able to endure it.

I quickly hooked some strings in a tree branch, and jumped back several feet.

The trees are working against me here... Even if my threads are stronger in this environment, I can't move freely. And with two opponents, that's very bad.

It seemed that she had willingly give me time to recover. Mein pictured her as ruthless... but why is she...

No... She was stalling, just like me. Are the Three Beasts really going to come over?! No, they can't be... She mentioned how it was a shame to find me... Maybe she really was expecting a tranquil evening.

"Why don't we just have a nice picnic? We're going to stand here forever." I suggested sarcastically. It seems that she is mental.

"..." That damn dog is staring at me.

And... Akame has stopped moving. No, she's coming back! Oh thank god.

"It's a sad day for you, because the threads of fate are set upon you!" I claimed, as every thread in the surrounding areas stiffened.

I won't die.

Not today.

* * *

**My god... Finally, we're getting to the point were the story diverges from cannon. All these chapters might have follow that line, until we reach next chapter.**

**I can't really say much about this chapter. I didn't really want to dive into politics, and as Tatsumi stated in the manga, he doesn't know about politics. Besides that, Lubbo or Raba, or whatever you call him... I really liked to write his point of view. Unlike Tatsumi, he kind of received a good education because he is the son of a noble... and with that I mess with the world of science and shit... I like doing that, for some reason.**

**And my god... see this small tear in my eyes? That's from reading the reviews. **

**And like always, I'm still undecided with the pairing... Either way, both of them work.**

**Thank you all for reading! Please, tell me your opinions like always!**

**Next chapter is the continuation of this one!**


	9. The Threads of Destiny II

**You know that feeling when you want to introduce a character from the manga, but you know that most people have just seen the anime? A coin told me that I should stick with my decision.**

* * *

"Tell you what, I'll teach you one of Newton's laws." I took my custom battle stance as I dug out the hope buried deep within.

This is her first battle with me, however, I know most of her techniques thanks to Mein. And that means... that I know where the core of the dog is at.

"Every action..." A bundle of strings started to gather in a single position.

In less than a second, a spear with a detachable spear point appeared in my right hand. This is it...

"...Has a reaction!" I launched the javelin with all my might, aimed right at her heart.

Like I had planned... the dog got in the way, and the head buried in its stomach. Almost immediately, Seryu jumped over him and stuck her arm into the mouth-grinder.

The teigu ripped off the remnants of the spear, and I took that advantage to regain some of the wires.

"Number Seven!"

It doesn't matter if it's number seven, or the golden number! The threads are inside her teigu! All I have to do is reach the core and...

Shit.

It regenerates faster than I can penetrate. The strings can't move inside it...! I have to cut a limb or something, so the regeneration focuses in another place...!

Wait...

Is that a fucking cannon!? She doesn't have to hit me with that! The mere explosion would...! I can't go back, the explosion would hit me... the same with going left or right which means...

I locked up some threads exactly above my head, and pulled up. Like you can guess, I had to go through all the foliage, but I was able to attain an acceptable height.

I stared down at the forest as a smaller explosion than what I had calculated reduced everything to dust. At least that new hole was twenty meters of diameter, and it doesn't seem to be anything live. Everything except that thing jumping towards me.

That disgusting teigu is heading directly towards me.

I... can't move in the air. The tree are too far to reach with my wires...

And that dog has its offering me a nice trip to its mouth. If I don't do anything, I'll be gobble up...!

But what do I do?!

No, wait! Serene is my second name... If I try something reckless...!

Most of my thread was used to have that nice security system. However, I can do something with what I have left. And with a bit of luck... I might as well not break a leg.

With my left hand, I made a small ball. Not too big, just like a ping pong ball.

One string connected the ball to the small rope-like structure I made. It only had eight threads... but the length was over a meter.

The plan was simple.

The puppy will eat the ball, and as it tries to eat me... The ball will attach itself in his innards, meaning that I'll use his own stomach to move myself with this rope and award him with a nice orbital drop.

But obviously simple, did not mean easy. Everything could go wrong... because this kind of thread can't resist acid for long... if it has stomach acid inside, of course.

Everything transcended in a couple seconds.

In a blink of an eye, I saw my threads going in his mouth... They definitely attached inside, but I didn't expect his reaction. The dog closed its mouth. He couldn't bite me like that... but it also meant I wouldn't be able to move as I wanted. And I'm starting to fall down along with him.

Damn it, Newton! Last time I read one of your stupid books...!

Out of despair, I used the centripetal force to get close to its back, away from its claws and mouth. Physics may save my ass, but they may kill me too.

I pulled the treads that were inside him, and I forced a shift in his posture. He's going to kiss the ground so hard, the damn nucleus will be alone for me...!

I braced myself for impact, and as soon as we hit the ground I was launched away. My back took the worst hit, but I was in one of the borders of the crater.

I regained my balance. I think I broke some ribs... or at least fractured.

All its face had been deformed, because I don't think he should have an eye in its ear... With luck, I'll be able to move my threads.

I started to move the strings inside the dog's body, and gathered the threads I had throw inside its body with the ones of the spear point... I enveloped the core. Now I just have to break it...!

...

I said, I just have to break it!

Break it!

Fine then, I can't break it... I just have to remove it from the insides and break it!

Pull it out...! WHY WON'T YOU LEAVE THE BODY?!

Fuck, why can't go anything go straight this day?! Screw it, I'll do it myself...

I think I'm forgetting something.

A blur appeared before my eyes. I wasn't able to do anything as all the air was knocked out of my lungs. I was barely able to took some steps back.

Shit... She's still fine... And the teigu has woken up too...

Damn it, Lubbo! Put two and two together!

She has the strength to pull the core out! She just has to hit me again, but I have to catch her with the most momentum... if not... it won't come out and I'll die.

"It's time for me... to use my trump card!" I yelled, between heavy breaths.

Her emotionless expression changed for a second, and the both of them rushed over to me.

That's right...! Punch me!

There weren't any trees in this crater... but the dog and myself acted as poles. And she was going to knock out one of them...!

I moved my hands like swapping a fly, and some threads wrapped around her left arm.

A big blooping noise made her stop. The mass of flesh and bones that composed the dog melted down, as a small shifting ball started flying in the air.

It was trying to regenerate itself up there, as the body had not followed. But there was a problem with that.

I broke it.

I loosened my threads, and saw how the core had snapped in two. A feeling of accomplishment filled my heart, as I wanted to yell...

That was for Sheele, you fucker!

Calm down...I need to hook some wires in the nearby trees and reunite with Akame!

I tried to move my right arm to hook some threads in the trees around the crater. But I was unable to do it. She had grabbed my arm.

_**Snap**_

"Eh...?"

My arm is...

My arm is...

A yell escaped my mouth as I realized what just happened. She broke it... I was too careless! She broke my arm!

She broke it!

I stumbled backwards and tried to run. I can still use my other arm... I just have to get out of this crater and grab hold of a tree! It's there! It's so close I can feel it in my mouth...!

Before I could take another step, she grabbed my right foot and I fell to the ground. Don' break the ankle...!

I suddenly felt light...

Everything is spinning...

I'm in the air...

She threw me... I'm going to hit a tree, but I'm twirling around too much to use the threads! If I aim wrong, I won't be able to retrieve the threads in time... And all the chances I have will disappear.

My body stopped abruptly, hitting one of the trees in the opposite side... If I hadn't broken some ribs before, now I have broken some... If not all.

I staggered as I got up from the ground. Everything hurts a lot... But I have a chance to get out! I can still use my left arm...!

"Fuck!" I hissed as soon as I saw the girl already upon me. I was able to use some threads to get some more distant, but she was fast. However... now that we are in a one on one, I can do what I should have done since the beginning!

My left arm was shaking visibly, but I connected with the threads of this area. She was rushing over me but...

I pulled some threads with my remaining arm, and several wires encircled her neck.

However, no sound was created.

"What?!" She couldn't... She couldn't have seen them! The threads are almost invisible to the naked eye!

She had moved one of her metal arms to her neck, leaving enough space to breath. I couldn't choke her like that. I can't break metal...!

"The same won't work against me twice." I released the wires immediately after those words. Clever girl...!

Think...! Think...! I can't do anything with so many injuries... I'm struggling to stand up right now! Akame, I need you! I was so focused in the destroying the teigu... That I wasn't aware that this was a two on one! Even without the teigu, she's still strong!

I grabbed my two emergency daggers. Come on... This is my last chance!

I took some steps back to support myself in a tree, and threw both knifes.

She avoided them, like it should happened but I was doomed. The daggers... were stuck in a tree. They're too close to gather enough force...!

My vision got blurry as I felt her cold metal arms against my head. I completely lost my balance and fell to the ground with no notion to stop it.

My body screamed in pain, feeling the roots of the trees against my back.

"Why... What did you do to Koro?!" My stomach screamed in pain as she kicked me with enormous strength. I can't breathe...!

My shaking hand pulled some threads to a nearby tree, but I wasn't able to move. She was in top of me, and not in the way I would have liked. I'd say that I was being choked to death, but she didn't want that... no.

She punched me, again, again and again. My mouth only tasted the metallic flavor of blood.

She just keeps hitting me... My blood isn't even trying to coagulate anymore. I'm a bloody mess...

How am I still conscious... God has a grudge against me? I know I'm not a class citizen. Well, I am an assassin after all. I'm just an idiot who has been in the grips of love for far too long. I just thought... That if I proved myself worthy, she would acknowledge me.

There's... Something comforting about death. Knowing you could die tomorrow, makes you appreciate your life more... But I won't stop now.

If there isn't a way to succeed... I'll make my own!

I can't die yet... I have to get back and tell her...

I heard a comforting sound... It wasn't what I would hope to hear... But the sound of metal clashing against metal really made glad to have her.

"Akame..." I whispered.

I raised my left hand to indicate that I was still... conscious. She bit her lower lip, and turned around.

"It was a mistake to let you go that night." The red eyed girl started talking, acquiring her characteristic battle stance.

"..." I looked at our opponent. Was she hesitating? She knows she can't beat her.

"S-Seryu!" I heard an unknown voice, followed by several steps. Seven soldiers appeared behind her, clearly fearing Akame... or both girls.

"The hell are you doing here?! I was distracting them!" The girl yelled. So this was really a distraction?! But these guys... aren't the Three Beasts. They're just random soldiers.

"Tsk... The lieutenant will kill us if you die." The cliché sergeant started to say.

Wait a second... they're trying to make a escape way for her?! After all I've been through, that girl isn't escaping. Sheele... and for everyone in Night Raid...!

"They're not targets... But..." Akame moved faster than a bullet, but her blade was stopped by those metal arms.

"I'm not running away!" The half robot started to say, kicking away Akame.

She clearly was conflicted... Something was making her move more carefully... She would have followed up those attacks, but...

"Fuck... You promised him, right? Get out while we hold Akame back!"

"What?!" Everyone, excluding Akame herself, said at unison. Even I couldn't hold back those words, because it's a joke, right?! Nobody, had said those words before, and actually meant it. Besides, Seryu... She's fucking crazy...! She doesn't have a teigu anymore! Why give up your life because of that girl?!

I'm not thinking straight... They are probably orders... I'll give him some points because of that...

The sergeant stood beside the crazy chick with a two handed sword... He won't be able to move faster than Akame, but it's definitely a nuisance. Akame won't be able to get her right away but...

I watched the girl carefully... This is my chance. I can use a thread to rip her carotid artery... that isn't a secured death, but it's much easier that breaking her neck. And she doesn't have her guard up...!

"If you're all here, I won't be able to activate...!" She tried to argue back. If she has something up her sleeve, this might just get worse. I guess I'll have to do that.

I was waiting for the Three Beasts to use this but...

Fuck it!

I used my remaining strength to get up from the ground.

"Akame!" She quickly jumped back, as I supported my broken arm with my left hand.

My brain was overloaded with pain, but with all my strength I pulled a thread. Just one. That wire was connected with every other of its kind, which meant that only pulling one, would carry all the others back.

I drew all the wires that were in front of me. No matter if they were in the trees, rubble or ground. Cross Tail was using its max force to pull back every thread.

I hadn't calculated the speed, but one lonely string can cut flesh with ease. And as I'm holding my arms in front of these guys, it means that they will suffer hemorrhages in all parts of their body.

However, I have a particular target in mind...

It did have a drawback. My skin gets a bit burnt with the friction, but I can't get any worse than this.

The forest was filled with a distinctive sound of wasps flying. Or also very fast threads.

Branches, trees, skin, flesh... they sew through everything. Every person in front of me started bleeding, screaming, gasping for air. It wasn't a pleasant sight, but I had gathered my efforts in the most dangerous person, of course.

It only lasted a few seconds... but they were some long seconds. Both for them, and for me. I couldn't see the aftermath, as I closed my eyes.

Akame supported me as I fell backwards, too tired to stand up. I grimaced as she touched my broken arm, but quickly realized my pain.

We moved too quickly for my liking... but we somehow managed to leave the forest, without nobody following us.

"Lubbock, don't sleep." She quickly whispered me, as she carefully made me lean against a tree.

"It's pronounced... Rabac..." I quickly joked, trying to stay sharp. Still, she was right... I was getting sleepy. I haven't lose that much blood...? But I have trouble breathing... "A rib... must have punctured my lungs... Internal bleeding... I don't know."

I have... read a book about this. After all, I have to reattach Leone's limbs once in a while... Even then, I'm not a medic.

"Keep talking." She imposed as she checked my wounds.

She opened my shirt, trying to... I don't know. This is bad... I can't even make a joke about this.

"Don't take advantage... of me. I can't die, you know... Bad blood never runs dry..." I murmured. My eyelids are getting heavy...

"It hurts... to breath and talk... at the same time." It felt like a hundred daggers stabbing me each time my lungs expanded.

I don't know how much time I was against that tree, but I closed for a second my eyelids... and I was already moving.

"Lubbo! Don't leave me. You have... You have to get back with Najenda." I have...

I have to get back... But seeing you sad... isn't normal.

I suddenly started coughing. My pace was abruptly stopped, but Akame still held me close to her. Heh... in any other situation... I would have enjoyed this moment.

I'm coughing blood... That's bad... It really punctured a lung... or worse... It hurts to breathe...

"Don't... worry. I'll wake up... I have... things to do... before..."

I heard Akame's voice even more distant...Shit... I'm really dying... But...

If one of us loses again to the same person... it would be pathetic. That's why... I have to keep... fighting..

... at least I killed her...

However...

I can't open my eyes anymore...

My lungs are collapsing...

My arteries aren't receiving oxygen...

... D-Damn...

...Every...one...

... Na... jenda...

* * *

"Damn it..." Egu tried to keep calm as everyone was slowly dying of blood loss. The ones who were hit in the femoral or carotid arteries were already unconscious. They probably wouldn't make it.

The remaining soldiers were trying to help each other, either putting pressure in wounds or trying to keep themselves alive.

"It was a good idea to split the squad... The others will come soon." He repeated to himself, trying to have the slightest bit of hope in his hands.

He turned around to see Seryu kneeled down, looking perplexed at the ground. She was still breathing... but her clothes were stained red. She wasn't like that when he arrived.

The sergeant gulped down his fear and approached her.

"...I was going to kill them both..." Those words stopped him right in his tracks, and continued pressuring the wound in his left arm.

"...I was going to explode... and kill them both..." She continued, this time focusing her glare on him.

Egu took a step back as the ex-teigu user stood up, a pool of blood gathering in her feet, and running down her clothes.

"... And then you appeared...!" She punched him, making him fall to the ground.

"...Why... I promised him to protect you all... and myself..." She staggered, falling on her knees again.

"...I wasn't able to do neither of them... Tatsumi will hate me..." She completely lost her balance, and fell to the ground with a flat noise.

Egu raised himself as he looked at her body.

"S-Seryu?" He clumsily approached her, and checked her pulse.

"Fuck... You're still here... Talk!" He slapped her face, trying to make her wake up. He couldn't lie... that it felt good to hit her.

Her eyes widened, before they started to fill with tears.

"...Koro... Koro...!" Tears started to fall down her cheeks, remembering everything that had happened.

"... Dad!...Tatsumi...!" The sobbing girl mentioned. "...I don't... After all... I don't...! I don't want to die like this!" The sergeant couldn't help but sympathize with her. She was dying... without a fight. The worst kind of death for a soldier.

Egu checked all her wounds. It was impressive that she was still conscious... Every limb, except her arms... her torso, her head... Everything had been sliced...

She was losing too much blood.

He couldn't do anything... but...

"...Dying wish." He said, remembering the words his lieutenant told him. "Seryu, what is your dying wish?!" He yelled at the girl, who was filled with blood and tears.

The girl approached his ear, and muttered down her last wish.

A wish that couldn't be refused.

A wish which couldn't be filled with ill intent. A dying person... it's just that. A person who is dying, and wants a last favor in their lives. No matter how that person was while alive... You can't be evil in those moments...

A wish... which is filled with the spirit of that person.

* * *

**Hours later...**

"Tsk... I thought she was my perfect experiment. But she didn't even use her last resort." A man said as he cleaned his glasses.

"My most stylish modification..." He said covering his mouth with one of his hands. "THE TEIGU! Where is it?!" He suddenly snapped.

His strongest minion, Toby, stiffened, and gathered enough courage to tell him the bad news.

"S-Stylish-sama, it's broken in two pieces... Right in the middle." The minion's body was mechanical, and he couldn't feel pain. But that meant that Stylish had to take some security trigger, in case of an insurrection.

"...Just two...?" His eyes sparkled, but quickly hid them behind his glasses. "Yes... Hahaha..We need an alchemist. The most stylish alchemist of the Empire. Nobody must know of this, understand?!"

"Y-Yes, Stylish-sama!" Toby was about to leave, when he remembered something. "Erm... A fan of yours... claimed that science and alchemy could be combined. As you said, all the useless letters are incinerated, but we kept that one because... well, it moved on its own."

Stylish caressed his chin, before answering.

"What was his name?" He sniffed, waiting for the answer.

"It's a she. I believe she was called... Dorothea." Toby closed his eyes, as he knew his master didn't like working with women.

"...Try to find one here, while Kaku brings that girl here. This is going to be... the ultimate creation!"

He looked at the former teigu user's body. "You will be useful even when dead."

* * *

**Well... um... It's all rainy moods fault. I was even sad writting this...**

**Not really much to say... except that fuck Wild Hunt. ****It's going to be pretty fun, because OH BOY. I'll have to be kind, and make an actual introduction...**

**And I think I've solved that Mine or Esdese problem... Yeah, an splendid review gave me that idea... HAHAHAHAHAHA**

**I'm waiting for the controversial chapter I'll make in a few weeks... or months.**

**As always, a lot of love for everyone that reviewed/followed/favorited. Everytime I get an email, it gets me fired up. **

**Following the tradition... I guess I'll have to tease the next chapter? I'll say that it will be the end of "Tatsumi is useless" arc, and the beggining of "Tatsumi is actually doing something" Arc. I'm quite proud of those names.**


	10. On My Own

**A-Alright guys, I can explain. AFTER THIS CHAPTER AJSDSALDASDHBJA**

* * *

"An... Anu... I don't how to read this thing."

I kept walking down the road, trying to read the famous manuscript. It was written in an unknown language... And I really wanted to know what these drawings mean. Maybe it's a hoax or something...

"...?" I noticed how some pages were stuck, bounding together some pages.

I shouldn't try to pry them open but... It's not like they'll care.

I slowly used two fingers to separate one of the stuck pages. I had pretty much screwed up the drawing, as it really didn't come out as it should. However, the illegible text was intact.

And that means pretty much nothing, because I can't read it. In exception of a few words...

"Roman..." Pretty sure that's what it says. This book seems like is written on latin, or something. So it must be pretty old...

Like a thousand years old... Wait a damn second.

Does this thing contain secrets of teigus? The names I know are: Murasame, Specter and... Hekatonkheires, or something like that. I prefer Koro, if you ask me.

Maybe I can find those names in here.

However, in this page the most repeated word was 'roman'. I decided to separate another of the pages, even more carefully.

This time I wanted to have the drawing, because at least I can get some information out of them... I stopped as soon as I saw the painting being torn apart. I would need some dissolvent... And what the hell is this.

There... There weren't any letters. Instead they had... small symbols. No, symbols isn't the word. It's more like... I don't know. The text goes downwards, instead o-

"AH!" A girl bumped into me, and we both fell to the ground. What is it with me bumping into people today?

The manuscript had fallen to the ground, along with the weirdly shaped bag she was holding. Without saying anything, the girl grabbed the sack and started running again. She must be in a hurry.

"Wait! You dropped... Never mind." She had already disappeared before I said those words. I grabbed the manuscript again, and checked the object she had dropped.

I kneeled down while I inspected the... strange sword.

I'm not an expert blacksmith but... What is this thing made of? It's definitely not light or heavy, the right weight for my hand, although I could probably remove this chain in the handle. But this eye... I'm sure it's looking at me. It must be just a jewel, right?

I could use a second sword...

Wait, wait, wait.

"...!"

This sword was freaking yelling at me. I was hearing it scream... No. Howling at me. What the hell...?

Why would I want this?! It's not mine and there isn't something so crazy in this world that can talk... Unless it is a teigu, but so far out in the middle of nowhere? Yeah, right.

B-But I can't leave you here all alone, right? You want a new home...

I'm being brainwashed by this thing... but if you are a teigu...

"Come on, do something teigu-like."

"..."

I'm talking to a sword. Clearly I can't fall more than this.

I don't have another sheath though... I can't bring you with me... And I'm not leaving my sword here. It's my last memory of my friends.

...

Screw it, I'll hide you along the way. That's what you wanted, right? Well, have a nice life as my secondary sword, because I'm not... using you...

Alright, maybe once...

Don't mess with me sword, I'm a... crazy man.

"Fine then... Teigu, activate!"

The vague silence of the road made me realize how stupid I sounded. Akame doesn't need to activate her teigu... perhaps this thing has its own unique ability, but I don't want to risk it on myself.

Perhaps I'm actually going mad, and this sword isn't actually talking. What a plot twist that would be.

* * *

As soon as I arrived to the capital, a scout from the HQ made me return the manuscript. After confirming it was real, of course. He gave me a very strange look... because I'm still holding the sword. I'm trying to hide it in my coat... It worked, most of the times. I just have to reach my room, and leave there m- I mean, this sword.

I made it to the barracks swiftly, but I couldn't help but notice the heavy atmosphere. It was quiet... Too quiet.

Better for me, I guess.

As I walked down the hallway, I saw one soldier turning around as soon as he saw me. Did something happened? He seems pretty nervous.

"Hey, it's something wrong?" I called him out, but he dodged the question.

"I... I have an important mission, sir. Excuse me." He ran past me, without looking at me.

My heart is aching...

What happened...

I shook my head, dismissing the faint pain I felt in my chest and continued forward. The sword... The teigu is the first priority. It's mine.

I have a teigu.

It's all mine...

Now I'll be able... to accomplish your wish, Ieyasu! I don't need the Revolution. I'll be the one to reign. The one who will defeat the Great General, Esdese, the Prime Minister, the Emperor...!

Nobody will be able to stop me... That's right.

Breathe, Tatsumi...

Don't rush things. We still have to find some allies and become a general. Until then... I'll just fantasize about it. That's the only thing you're useful for, brain.

I got into my room, and dropped the teigu-sword below my bed, behind the bag I carried from home.

I can't be seen with that sword anymore. Unless the situation requires it.

I checked that everything was intact, and left the room with a sigh. Now, where is nee-chan.

She normally shows up when I enter...

Maybe she's totally rejecting me. She can't be that mad, can she? But the mere thought... it hurts.

She wouldn't do that... She is just caught up with something.

I'll see if Egu has returned from the mission... I'll tell him to help me. I have a lot of things to apologize for... I can't deserve a girl like her.

Agh! Stop being depressing. At the cost of repeating myself, It's not over until it's over. There's nothing to be over, so technically that phrase means nothing. You get what I'm saying.

But the thing is, where is he? This place is deserted. Don't tell me Night Raid was really involved. That... That can't be right.

They're not stupid enough to face them. Then again... everyone with the right mind wouldn't face them. I guess that explains why she actually killed one.

Perhaps the HQ...?

I headed towards the entrance once again. The hallways were cold, a grim sensation filling me little by little. The night must be falling... that must be it.

"Ah! Egu, I was looking..." I felt a stung in my heart.

He was heavily bandaged, mostly his arms and legs. He was still wearing a bloody uniform that just made me feel even worse. Had he come right away...?

"They... weren't friendly." He let out a weak smirk, not facing me.

"N-Night Raid? H-How many have...?" My tongue couldn't move quickly enough. I had never... lost anybody in my squadron. Not even during the raid... If somebody died, it will be my fault.

"...Three, and another four injured, included myself." I felt my heart trying to escape my chest.

I placed my hand in my face, trying to process everything. It's alright... they will have a place to rest at least... Even then, why...!

"Th-There was... a-another victim... You should... probably sit."

Confusion... that was what I felt. Or maybe I did know, and just didn't want to think it.

"What? Tell me, I won't try anything."

I didn't move... and I saw him move his lips.

...I stop breathing.

...My mind stops.

...Even time stops.

...What...What...Is this?...What is this?!

...This can't be...This can't be happening!

This world is covered in two colors. The black of despair... and the red of blood.

Just trying to think it wasn't like this... wasn't enough.

And...And...

"...That... That can't be it... Seryu is... Seryu... She wouldn't..."

She can't be dead. There is no way... she didn't know where we were heading... No, she could have very well have heard it but... She promised me that she would stay alive...

I can't think. My mind is blank.

"That's impossible... K-Koro protects her, right?!"

My question didn't get an answer, because I already knew it.

You are... You were one of Night Raid's important targets...? Is that the reason...? But you were important to me too.

Then why?!

"Seryu...? Seryu?!" My legs started moving on their own. "Where is she." My throat was dry, everything in my brain had been neglected to the side.

"...A man named 'Stylish' said..."

I felt my anger surpass the limits I ever experienced. That... That... fucker... Why did he let her...! Why did he let her go?! She was obviously not in her best form! He didn't care?! He didn't care, did he?!

I moved forward, but I felt worse with every step. My vision gets dull... My head aches... I feel dizzy... And nauseous.

"No... It's not her... it's not...!"

The closer I moved to the door, the calmer by breathing gets.

The more I walk, the cooler my body becomes.

That's right... Even while I'm thinking this...

I've completely lost control.

That mad doctor... has lost the privilege to live. Because I have erased it.

"Stylish. Where is he."

I feel like I'm chilled to my bones now...

"... He left a few moments after I..."

How?! How could I have missed him...! Had he taken another route?! No, that wasn't it. He probably didn't even enter that part.

I always think of unnecessary stuff.

I don't need to think all of that. Erase everything else...

Murdering that guy is top priority.

"Wait, don't do anything rash! That guy is protected by the Empire!" The sergeant tried to stop me, and started following me.

I barely left the building when I saw him.

...There he is.

... I can tell it's him from our previous encounter, although we didn't really talk. He had a lone bodyguard with him...

Just that...? Too tempting...

The streets weren't empty, but it was enough for me.

My hand was already grabbing my sword.

The tension in my muscles goes down like a broken string... My arms go limp. My legs used all their strength to make a quick ambush. I want to aim at the weakest point while he's still off guard.

My sword was heading directly at his neck, however, another metal blade managed to stop it.

Extremely calm, I looked at the bodyguard. He doesn't have a teigu. But he's in the way.

"W-What just...?" The doctor heard the sound of metal, and clumsily backed off.

"Why did you let her...! She's dead because of you... It's your fault."

The bodyguard quickly tried to slice my throat with his other arm blade, but I managed to dodge it. He was good... Too good. But I don't care.

"I know who you are... You are the one who ruined my project. Everything was dazzling until you arrived." Overacting was apparently his only good attribute.

"Project...? Seryu wasn't a project! She was... a human, like you and me!"

I tried to feint the bodyguard, but he sidestepped me. Our blades locked, and for a brief moment I was overpowering him. That is, until he opened his mouth and revealed a gun.

My left hand released the grip of my sword, and punched his chin in an attempt to save my face. Though it worked, I had to step back.

"And you are trying to kill me because...? What am I talking about... With those clothes, no wonder you're murdering people left and right." He shook his head like a lost cause.

"Lieutenant! Back off before...!" I heard the distressed voice of my underling behind me.

"Shut up!" I yelled. "I told her to talk with Stylish before doing anything rash and she...!"

The bodyguard took advantage of my rambling, and jumped. It was an unexpected move... but seeing how a blade came out of his feet, I realized what the hell he was.

A machine...? No, a cyborg.

I blocked the upcoming blade, and he quickly followed up with an horizontal slash with his arms. I have only one sword, which means I can't parry several attacks but... I have a metal handgun. My hand moved erratically, and I felt how the handgun barely held up its form.

"...She obviously lied. I don't stay in the capital for reasons like you." A faint gleam appeared in his eyes before he covered them with his glasses. "Which means you are the one who doomed everything I had accomplished." I briefly looked at him.

He's lying, that must be it.

I aimed at his head to shut him up for good. It was obviously a bluff, to make the bodyguard defenseless. Who would give a guy like this a quick death?

He stepped in front of him, giving me the chance I wanted. I lowered my head to dodge his blade, and my own sword made its way through his arm. Blood started to spray all over, and the people started to run frightened.

My heart started to stabilize, and I walked over towards the doctor who looked slightly unnerved.

"What is it? Trying to shift the blame? It's your fault, and you know it. If you had just said no... But you probably didn't think about it. She didn't even use her last resort... What kind of ideas did you drill in her head?"

"...What are you saying...?" I couldn't have. She is very stubborn... Although, she could have been easily influenced, after all, she thought that Ogre was a good guy. And this guy too... Even I thought that too.

"You indirectly killed her. But I have important things to do, rather, I don't have anything to do. Ciao." He smirked and started to walk away. As if he thinks tha-

"Surprise."

I turned around to see that the bodyguard was still alive and kicking, having a new blade where his arm used to be. I tried to roll away, but a big slash cut through my clothes and skin.

He tried to follow up with an uppercut, however, I sidestepped and blocked the upcoming swing. He was faster before... doesn't he realize that he's losing blood? No... that isn't blood. Oil...? No, it's something else.

Cutting his limbs doesn't even face him. I'll have to take him out directly, without making him more dangerous. He doesn't even look fazed by losing an arm. So I'll need to...

I feinted an attack with the handgun, making him crouch. Just what I wanted.

I used all my strength to thrust the sword through his body, and though I had failed to hit the heart... and the edge of his arm blades sliced my leg and stomach but... I pointed the gun at his head.

A loud sound silenced the streets, as the ex-bodyguard fell to the ground sliding off my sword.

There was nothing else. Stylish had escaped.

I was alone, with only my thoughts.

My thoughts...

Seryu...!

I fell to my knees, releasing the weapons I had. I looked at my shaking hands, and brought them to my chest.

"I killed her...?"

Something started to run down my cheeks. I was crying.

Everything I had neglected during this past minutes... struck me like a truck. The shock had prevented my cries... but I couldn't hold them back anymore.

Why does this happen to me? When I get close to someone... they die.

I'd prefer to be physically torn apart... but I know.

It was my fault, wasn't it?

I tried to trick her... And she saw through it... I trusted her, and even then I lied.

But I'm starting to come to a realization. It's possible... that the only reason I trusted her is because I didn't want to be alone.

I forced myself to believe her... but I'm sick of being like this.

She probably think that too, right? Would she... cry for me...?

Even then...

I'm the only one crying.

But why is it that it hurts so much, that I can't stop crying?

My heart is torn apart badly. I want to leave this painful feeling. It could've been a lot easier if I got rid of this pain... I knew something like this would happen. I knew it, but I still chose this path.

I did what I could do. I know I did...

It's enough. I should let it go and be free.

I'm not getting rid of my pain. I'm leaving it with her, like lying flowers.

My tears had started to fall at my hands. I want to stop crying, but I sob one more time.

I appreciated her kindness...

I appreciated her pretty smile...

I loved it when she caressed my head...

This is the last one.

After this tear, I'll forget everything. This is for you.

I don't know for sure but...

...I think I lov-

Fast pace... A lot of steps... A lot of people were surrounding me. Oh yeah... I killed somebody right now, didn't I? I don't care.

I honestly don't care. The Empire can kill me for all of I care, but she wouldn't want that.

I opened my eyes slowly, and grabbed my sword. They weren't regular soldiers.

These ten soldiers... All surrounding me. The symbol they carry... Esdese's army? So they send the best of the regulars against me? It's obvious the Empire doesn't want to waste Varengian Guards... Because I won't hesitate.

"What? Leave me alone..." I started to walk away, but they wouldn't budge.

"We've to bring you back for an important act. Drop your sword and we m-"

The soldier's words were cut as I punched his trachea. Might have killed him, now that I think about it...

"I said, leave me alone." He fell to the ground, not saying anything. Duh...

"I couldn't even see him...!" One of them whispered.

"So this is why the General...!" ...I don't care.

One of the soldiers took a step forward, and started talking. Really?

"Lieutenant Tatsumi. We know it's impossible to bring you by force." The ten, excuse me, nine soldiers that are here beg to differ. "But we have to bring you to the Imperial Palace for a meeting with-"

"I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you. Leave me alone." My voice resounded in the walls, making my message even more clear.

"...You'll regret this." He muttered before signaling with his left arm.

As soon as they arrived, they left.

"What the f... Y-You just killed a guy in the middle of the streets, put in risk the citizens a-and you just flipped off Esdese... What the fuck Lieutenant?!" I couldn't comprehend what was so bad about it, but Egu seemed pretty mad.

"It's _Captain _now. I'm going to get the promotion I deserve." I waved my hand at him before stopping again.

I've put up with all this stupid treason bullshit. That wasn't fair, it was injust. I have to bring justice to this world... I don't care anymore if I die. Nobody takes me seriously, even when I have fought against teigu users and even Night Raid. Seryu told me... to follow my senses more.

I don't have anything to lose, so let the games begin. Who is going to lose more? An Empire, or a lone swordsman? The answer might surprise you.

But first...

"Akame. Was it her?" I murmured.

"...Well, she was there but... it was a guy with thread powers or something. The reason I'm alive is because he centered on... her..." I heard the voice of my _new_ lieutenant.

So it was a revenge, uh...? I think that is for the better. I like Akame and Mein... But if killing that person relieves this pain...

I won't hesitate.

* * *

"How... is he?" A pink haired girl asked, as she kept an eye at the doctor.

Bringing a doctor was a pain and bringing his whole team was worse, as they had to blind them temporarily, or they'd know the localization of the base. But if it was to save a life, it was worth it.

"His condition is still critical. We found threads around his ribs, preventing them from piercing his lungs and those probably give him the small chance he has, but... Even if he's able to pass this night... it won't matter if he doesn't wake up. His brain hasn't received oxygen for a period of time and... he could never wake up."

Her heart sank like a rock in cold water. First Sheele, then Bulat... and now him too? It was too much to bear in such a short amount of time. If she hadn't broken her arm then... she would have been able to do... something.

"He's too stubborn to die like this. He will wake up." Leone affirmed firmly, and looked over to her boss, who had not said anything.

"Akame, did he said anything before...?" Mein said, not looking up from her broken arm.

"He... said he would wake up."She ended the conversation there, but added another phrase. "I have faith in him."

The dark atmosphere succumbed with those words, as the little bit hope was dug out from the ground.

"...if you'll excuse me, I have to check the conditions of his lungs. I drained the air pleural cavity and if everything goes well, they might work normally in a few weeks. We'll try to make his recovery as easy as possible. If he's strong willed... he will survive." The doctor said, as he disappeared behind the door.

Nobody said anything after this.

The stress they had suffered in such a small span of time wouldn't be easy to overcome... And the subject of having new members wouldn't be brought up until several weeks later.

But it would be too late for a possible recruit...

"Erm... Uh... Boss, if we need new members, maybe there's someone who wants to join..." Mein asked, avoiding eye contact.

"Don't worry about that. I'll bring the Teigus we confiscated to the HQ, and hopefully we'll get some new members." Najenda answered thoughtfully while looking at the other Night Raiders.

"Oh! Oh!" Leone suddenly raised her hand, like a child who had found out the answer to a game. "I think she meant her childhood boyfriend, right _pinky_?!" She started to tease the younger girl.

"Leone!" She tried to fight back hopelessly.

"What? You told the story with too much Tsun-Tsun. Besides, Akame thinks the same too."

"Beautiful love story." Akame said with a straight face.

"W-Why does everyone said that?! We have just met three times! And the last two didn't even last one minute!" Sadly those arguments didn't work against her onee-san.

The two of them entered a childish debate while Najenda kept telling her point of view.

"He's a potential recruit, but Night Raid is composed of skilled assassins, not soldiers. Besides... if he has any regard for his life, he will have to flee from the capital."

"Wait, why?" Mein looked up confused, ignoring her partner.

"It was strange at first. He has been doing us a favor, even killing our targets and the Empire hasn't done anything to stop him. Now we know why. They were waiting for the Jaegers." She explained briefly.

The Jaegers... the Empire's elite squad. A group selected to combat Night Raid, and maintain the "peace" of the capital. And their first target was... a lonesome swordsman?

"But he isn't that strong... Why send them just for him?" Leone asked, looking for an answer.

"It's impossible to know what is going through the Minister's or Esdese's mind... But if he somehow manages to survive, we will definitely want him. Don't even think of going to the capital while I'm gone." The boss declared while glaring at the blond woman.

"I was just going to check..."

* * *

**Playing Higurashi was the right motivation to write this chapter. If you have played it, you'll know why.**

**I will actually answer to this last chapter's reviews... I don't do it because I think people just straight up ignore it. But alrighty...**

**First off... why the hell is Wild Hunt appearing so soon? Because somebody has to piss off Tatsumi... And I won't say no more, because spoilers.**

**And second off... Why did Seryu have to die...? There's actually a very good reason that I will explain... in the same chapter were Dorothea is introduced. If some of you have read the last chapter of the manga... OH BOY. OH BOY INDEED.**

**I actually feel proud that I made at least two human beings feel shocked about Seryu's demise... Sorry :(  
**

**And now, to a little breakdown of this chapter... **

**Tatsumi's reaction to Seryu's death was greatly influenced by Higurashi... I am happy to not have copied anything, at the very least. Besides, I wanted to make sure that both Night Raid and J̶a̶e̶g̶e̶r̶s̶ Esdese were, at least, interested in him.**

**So, as always, feel free to say whatever you want in the reviews... Even if it's to blame me for Seryu's death. WHERE WERE YOU ALL WHEN KORO DIED?!**

**Thank you all for reading this story. You don't know how happy it makes me to read your reviews.**

**Following the tradition, next chapter is going to be... a long fight. I want to end this arc next chapter, so don't expect it in at least two weeks, because I'm not breaking it down in two parts like the past chapter. **

**Thank you all again!**


	11. Battle for a future to believe in

**Chapter 59... AKAME WAS TOO OP. PLS NERF.**

**I don't know what the hell happened this Friday, but everyone and their mother entered all at once.**

**Quick reminder. Why do I use Esdese instead of Esdeath? It's pretty easy. It's much easier to write Esdese. Yeah, I'm lazy.**

**This was the longest chapter I've ever written, even if some of this had been written months ago.**

* * *

**_Chapter 11_**

**_Battle for a future to believe in._**

* * *

_"Sayo! Ieyasu! Don't leave me please!"_

_I was running. I was running as fast as I could. But I couldn't reach them. Something was pulling me back...My own life was pulling me back. I couldn't reach them because I wasn't dead. I'd be happy to see them again, so if I just give up... I'll be with them again._

_My vision darkened for a few seconds. When it lighted up again, I saw another figure._

_"Seryu..."_

_Yes, I remember. I thought like that way before befriend her... She gave me the strength I needed to fight, both physically and mentally. We were in a very similar situation... we both were alone and seeking revenge but... I was beginning to understand her a lot more. It wasn't hard to talk with her, and she always found a way to cheer me up..._

_But then..._

_Threads restrained my arms and legs. I couldn't move as I watched her fall into the abyss._

_Another figure approached, and stopped before I could see his face._

_"And then, what happened?" The oddly familiar voice started talking._

_"You killed her. Why did she have to die? Because she had a teigu? Because she killed your friend...? Why? I just want a reason for all the pain this has caused..."_

_"This world isn't fair, Tatsumi. And you should have know that first handedly. You were not this depressed when Sayo and Ieyasu died. Why is that? They were you friends too, even more than Seryu." The shadow replied back._

_"That's because... That's because Seryu was there. I wasn't alone... I was happy around her..."_

_"What if I give you a reason to live? If you follow the path of revenge, Tatsumi. The emotions will make you stronger..." A dark aura surrounded him._

_"No." I replied with a definite no._

_"And why is that?" _

"Uh... Captain?"

_"Vengeance... has brought me all of this. If Night Raid hadn't killed Ogre, Seryu wouldn't try to hunt them down... And then she would be alive with both arms. The same goes with me. If nobody had appeared six years ago, I would have stayed home." _"Captain...?"

"_Are you really going to leave his murderer go unpunished? That is not how you acted before. That is not how you are acting now."_

_"I'm not. But I am not living for revenge, I'm living to accomplish some wishes." The figure clapped while bearing a resented smile._

_"Very well then... But you are not prepared mentally for my power... the power of a teigu."_

_The figure shaped and grew in size, until achieving a form a I had never seen before. Before shrinking in fear, I saw a cross in each of his multiple eyes looking at me savagely._

"CAPTAIN!"

"Ah! What? What?! I'm here!" I felt my restless body weigh up on me once again.

I had done nothing else since she passed again. Train, train, train and bring justice like you have told me. I'm surprised the Empire has only pissed in their pants as I have killed like... two commanders... I had leads, alright?!

But my body couldn't keep up anymore, and while I was waiting for a report I fell asleep in this chair. My back hurts...

"We have arrested the serial killer that has menaced our district. The reorganization of the night watch has definitely helped... and obviously the citizens are happy with the situation. And... About that other thing you mentioned..." The previous sergeant Egu, now Lieutenant, had become my right hand in the organization of the district. I wanted to help the people in my district, and I needed a loyal soldier at my side...

"What about Stylish? Any news?" I quickly switched themes, remembering more important things.

"No... He's a snake. It's impossible to track him down."

I cursed under my breath as I heard those words. If I'm able to get him while he's off the city, then it might be possible to do it without raising anymore suspicion.

I groggily got up from the chair, and felt a sharp pain in my head. I instinctively pressed my hand against the forehead.

It sounds like a damn dragon is yelling at my eardrums...!

But as soon as it appeared, it vanished without a trace. Just what the hell...

* * *

How many days have passed like this?

The city, the soldiers... are moving on.

...I sometimes wonder where you've gone.

The moments we spent have past and gone away. I could end this, what I feel deep inside. But there's no looking back. As long as I'm alive everyone will be a part of me. Even if I'm just a broken mess.

...Time has already come. I'll leave this city today...

Can't give up... I know and this life goes on.

I'll be strong... I'll be strong until I see the end.

As long as I survive you will be part of me.

Sayo...Seryu... I won't forget you.

I looked at the empty gravestone in front of me. It didn't have a name and nobody was buried below me. But I knew who belonged here. I wanted to stay here a bit more... because... I wouldn't be able to see another day, probably.

"The Empire... has decided that I'm no longer useful." I started talking. "Stylish... sealed my fate. At first... I didn't know why they didn't kill me the day after you... passed away. But I know now. A special group of teigu users to take down Night Raid, and protect the 'peace' of the capital. The Jaegers."

It's impossible... I can't take them down. Perhaps, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to escape the capital... but the odds aren't in my favor.

"A divine intervention might help. I can also take offers from the devil..."

A laugh escaped my lips.

It's funny, really. To think that I'm hoping for God, or just some mighty being might help a monster like me... It's hilarious.

"I... I had a dream last night. I was with Ieyasu and Sayo... Nothing exciting happened. It was a normal day in my village. But I was... happy."

I smiled as I remembered the dream. It was one of those times where I forgot everything that surrounded me.

... And I should probably have checked if anyone was around me.

"It has been quite a while since I saw a smile like that." I immediately got up from the ground as I heard those words.

Were they attacking right now?! Ah, no... It's a beau- slender woman from the... She doesn't have any insignia... I know she's from the army from the attire but, perhaps it's that tattoo in her chest...? I shouldn't look at that too much. But somehow... Somehow I feel like I've seen those blue eyes before.

"I'm sorry..." I hurriedly straightened my clothes. For some reason, her presence was overwhelming, and I couldn't attain the grade of formality she was giving.

I started to walk away awkwardly... Did she... Was she flirting with me?

I stopped for a moment, and heard an extra step. Is she... following me?

"Em... Is there a problem?" I turned around and faced the beautiful woman. My gut was telling me to be wary just in case...

"Perhaps there is." She casually mentioned. For some reason, that scared the hell out of me. What was going on...?

"Pass." I stepped aside, letting her enough room to even dance. I don't want her behind me... Em... that came out wrong again...

She didn't respond, but gracefully accepted my offer. I carefully watched her leave, before starting to move again.

I like long hair...

...Doesn't Esdese have long blue hair too...? With blue eyes... With big...

Don't tell me she...?!

Nah, it can't be. If she was the leader of the Jaegers, I wouldn't be alive at this very moment. Or maybe I'd be tortured to death... What a fun way to die. I'm killing myself before that happens.

I left the graveyard, and returned to the streets of the Capital. I don't know if call convenient to have a cemetery so close, or just disheartening. Either way, the Cloud District is just around the corner...

At the very least, I did follow my senses. To an extent, because I would have ended killing everyone if I had totally followed them... I guess that explains why she was like that. Rationalism saves me.

The way I was promoted to being a Captain was... pretty aggressive. I just pulled out my gun and threatened the Commander. He had a very priceless face while I did it. I bet he thought I wasn't serious. I guess he changed opinions when I shot his leg. Hm...

Even then, being a Captain isn't that fun. I am not an strategos, which means I don't know how to command troops. Nobody has really complained, as I was pretty known in this company. Speaking of which, I have a company! Which is like a platoon, but much more intricate.

I think there are about... 200 soldiers or around that mark. It's a bit scary, because now it looks like I just have to deal with numbers, and not soldiers. Are they really expendable? I shouldn't think about it a lot but... I don't want to lose the last remains of humanity I have. But even then...

For some reason I don't feel bad about it. Speaking of desensitized...

... There's something odd...

I stopped and started looking around. The streets were filled of people, as the market opened every Sunday. Was there something between them? What is it... that it's throwing me off?

...Where are the pigeons? The streets are always filled with them. And don't tell me that there extermination squadrons. I really believed there were some until Ser-

Tsk... I have to contact Egu, Sagar and Daso... I can't fight with so many people around here. They'll take of the people here...

Are the Jaegers already on me? No that can't be. They haven't done any mission yet, why would I be the first?

Should I make a run for it? That could make them attack right now. I'll walk like I haven't noticed anything an- No wait, I have stopped, so I have to do something if they're really watching.

"O-Oh, a coin...?" Yeah, that's right Tatsumi! Crouch, grab the invisible coin, and leave. That's it... don't look behind...

Walk and don't look back. Or up. Just look at everyone in front of you.

I'm starting to get nervous. I know somebody is watching me. I cannot fight the Jaegers without that sword I found. I mean, if it ever is a teigu and has an special attribute.

The crowd started to fade away a little bit, as I got farther from the center. In fact, I was just besides the barracks. Thanks to that, I found the person I'm looking for.

"Egu, my compatriot... How is the day going?" It had been a lot of time since I had used this happy tone...

"Eh? Are you hig- Wait, what's wrong...?" His eyes widened as he stared at me perplexed.

I felt electricity in my back. This feeling... I felt the same when Seryu and Koro got serious. Could this mean...?

"...There's a sword below my bed. Grab it and report as soon as possible."

He nodded and entered the building with a dazing speed. I should have said discreetly...

I turned around, and confirmed my fears. So he was that tingly feeling...

"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to know somebody called _Tatsumi, _right?" A young man with fair blond hair asked politely, hiding his true intentions.

I immediately scanned his clothes, trying to find a teigu. His white robe didn't seem to be hiding anything, perhaps that collar he's wearing...? No, perhaps it's in his back...?

I have to buy some time until Egu gets here...

"Oh, well he's right here. Is there anything you want me to help? Perhaps you want to report a crime?" I followed along with his talk. He wouldn't attack with so many people, right?

"Actually, I do want to report a crime. A crime of treason and espionage against the Empire. Perhaps you know something about it." Clever boy...

"...I don't know. What is treason anyways? The Empire is supposed to protect the civilians, but what have they accomplished?" The man didn't lose his façade even after my chosen words.

My pride tells me to press even more.

"Nonresistant ethics running away, burning people who are groveling, the genocide of the northern tribes, crackdowns, inhuman experiments? I don't think that the Empire has the right to say that _I am_ the traitor in here."

Ah crap! I let out too much! I just got too fired up and then...!

"I cannot say you're wrong. It would go against my beliefs." The young man agreed with me, but then the air tensed up. "If you give up now, I'll try to avoid your immediate demise. We could even work with each other."

...Really? But I just bashed against the Empire. Why would he...?

"I'm sorry, but following your example... it also goes against my beliefs to give up after everything I've been through. I mean, I don't think those soldiers were necessary."

We stood there silently for some moments, before he started to talk again.

"Are you telling me those soldiers aren't targeting me?" He mentioned politely. I don't know where the mask begins and the true human ends.

If they aren't his, why are they hiding? Wait could they be...?

That's right... Those guys that thought I was the one who killed Ogre? Well, they really do hate me, and have been trying to kill since then. I'm completely unarmed for once, and they attack... they might save my ass.

"Technically I was talking about..."

Some of the people around us pulled out swords and guns, surrounding me immediately. Everyone rushed at me without hesitation.

The townies started to scream and ran away as soon as possible, leaving the space I needed...

Before any of them reached me, I grabbed a spherical object from my belt. I held it up in front of me, making everyone stop.

"Alright boys. Do you what is this beautiful creation of mankind?" My index finger threatened to pull the pin, and exploding everyone into tiny pieces.

All the henchmen looked at my with hatred, except the man from before, who still had a happy smile. Could it be... He saw through my bluff?

"I see... I can depict what kind of man you are." He nodded awkwardly, but didn't say anything else. So he is testing me too...?

The streets are clear enough...

I pulled the pin of the grenade and dropped it to the floor. The soldiers made a last ditch effort and threw themselves into the ground in hopes of not losing anything.

I looked one last time at the smiling man, before smoke covered everything.

That's right. Smoke grenades are my friends now. That one was called Delsin. A shame I only have one.

I made a run for it, looking forward to my next objective. I need to reach the southern city gate, steal a horse and flee to the south... I didn't want to, but this was the last chance I'd have to keep my life.

The curiosity go over me, and I looked back. Those soldiers had recovered and started to run after me, but I was already too far. I was concerned to not see the smiling man trailing me. Did he just give up? Maybe the teigu makes him invisible?! Ah crap baskets.

I slid across the ground to make a quick turn around the corner. I couldn't run in a straight line like a jackass.

The fact that some feathers fell to the ground after I turned can also apply.

"Wait, feathers? He's flying?! Did I just insult an angel?!"

The angel-like man appeared in front of me, showing me his wings with a straight face. He's serious now, isn't he?

This alleyway wasn't the typical dark and dangerous kind, but it was small without too much space. If he shots more of those fancy feathers, they'll surely hit me. And to make things worse, this was the best shortcut I had near me.

"Are you really going to do the same thing?" He extended his arm, probably ready to attack.

At the same time, I grabbed the last grenade I had on me. I really should have grabbed a pair more...

"Frag out!"

Just a quick reminder. That thing has tons of shrapnel. How the hell am I going to survive is out of the question, because I already threw it.

Seeing ahead of my plan, he shot the grenade mid-air. This guy has some moves...!

My arms protected most of my torso, and thanks to the angle it didn't hit my legs. Making the most out of this moment, I ran away as far as I could. I knew I couldn't run in the middle of the streets, because he would kill me right away.

"Are you for realsies...?" Right into the lion's den?!

I totally forgot about these smugs trying to kill me. As soon as I left that alley, the ten guys trying to murder me before had already reached my position.

Talking about useless exercise, I don't want to kill them, but hey, they're just in the way. I don't think it will matter if I eliminate one or two...

They didn't appreciate Seryu when she was on their squadron, so I mean, I can just kill all of them, right? That wasn't fair by their part. I should return the favor, limb by limb...

"Captain!" A voice made me snap back into reality.

The Amphithere in their insignia made it clear who they were. My company of soldiers... Who for some reason are attacking my assassins.

Without answering, they engaged my attackers, pushing them back. I caught glimpse of a familiar soldier approaching me.

I grabbed the sword he threw at me. This is...!

"Captain! Shit is going down!" Egu quickly approached me, clearly anxious for something.

"...Yeah, I'm having problems too." I checked the blade once again, and focused in the strange eye in its handle. It's like an eye with a cross...

Cross... Speaking of crusades, where is angel guy? A grenade couldn't have killed him, but he hasn't appeared again. I mean, he was right behind me. Did he give up that easily? Unless there wer-

"I don't know why, but the whole Craftsmen district is attacking us! Lt. Sagar intercepted an squadron trying to reach your destination, but they won't hold out for long! It's like they're on drugs or something, they don't seem to understand us...!" His anxiety rubbed on me.

The Craftsmen district... was Captain Ogre's district. I know some of them hated me, but _all_ of them?! I know that isn't true! What could have made them attack with this synchronization?!

"What about Lt. Daso? Where's her platoon?" Sagar's platoon was one of the strongest, and it's being pushed back. If we can't get her here...!

"She's evacuating the civilians from the battlefield! After that, she should meet up with us!"

"What about the commander? He has the highest rank!" My own voice started to crack up.

"He's nowhere to be found. Right now, you are the highest ranking officer in the field. Please Captain! You had a great plan in the Red District! Repeat that miracle again!" They really believed in me.

They believed I could get them out of this situation. They put their faith on me once, and they have seen firsthand of what I accomplished in the Red District.

That took days of preparation. And it almost failed because of me.

What the hell... What the hell...!

Why is this happening?! And the Jaegers are here too...! I've never been in a true battle before! Is this a turf war?! No, why are they attacking?!

What do I do?! What do I do?!

I'm not a commander! Everyone is going to die!

"_Sshh, Tatsumi. Calm down..." _The voice of a familiar girl whispered in my ear...

What the... Seryu?

"_It's nee-chan!" _ Oh right.

I'm hearing voices.

No, I'm not hearing them. I-I'm totally fine. That was just my head messing with me. Yes.

I'm beginning to think I have issues. However...

It's true... I can do this. Just some quick orders and get the hell out of here.

"Tell me, what are their exact positions." I looked over at ou... my soldiers, who seemed shocked about this sudden betrayal of their comrades. They had killed some of them, or knocked them out... But they were listening to me now.

I have to do it.

Alright, remember the layout...

This district is divided in three parts, west, center and east. One for each platoon...

The Craftsmen District is at our west 'border', just behind our HQ. Which means bad news for us because we're right in the center. However, the Palace wouldn't let this kind of insurrection happen, so with a bit of hope, they'll send reinforcements...

"Sagar is engaging the enemy in the main street, which is just two streets down. We can't know when Daso will come, and we don't know the exact forces of our enemy. What do we do, Captain?" I have to fulfill their wishes too...

Let's take the worst case scenario, and think there's at least a whole company attacking... There's at least one platoon attacking, and there could be another two in standby or already moving...

If we could take down the enemy in the main street, if there are more platoons, they should be easily disposed of...

"Divide your platoon into two. The first detachment will surround the enemy using the eastern streets." Eastern sounds weird, I should have said something else...

"Sagar's platoon will feign a retreat, and as soon as the enemy starts to pursue them... The second detachment will swell the ranks of his platoon and counterattack. When they see they're surrounded, they should admit defeat." Hopefully... "I'll cover the rear, so don't worry of a surprise attack from the back."

Even with my words, it seemed that the fact of fighting against their own was dispiriting...

And this is just a small force... If a civil war happens between the Revolution and the Empire... How many families will break apart? How many brothers will be forced to fight against each other? How many will be wrongly accused of being of the other side?

"I ask that you never forget those who gave their lives for the people in this country, the hearts of those who sacrificed themselves for their duty. I will press onward, with the dying wills of countless warriors weighing on my shoulders. If anything else happens this day... it will not be your fault." If I have anymore weigh on my shoulders I will surely kill myself.

Even with troubled faces, it seemed that most of them had gathered enough determination to get serious. Right now, they didn't have any other option.

"Yes, Captain! Alright Lura, you're in charge..." I stopped listening.

Did that really do the trick? I just let out some random words... Could that really have worked? They seem more inspired, yes...

I shook my head once again, and watched how my soldiers acted accordingly to my words. I'll take this chance and ran away.

I could hear the battle from over here.

Did I... really just hear Seryu back there? That was probably just my subconscious. Yes, that must be it. I'm not crazy.

Ok, I'm crazy, but I don't usually hear voices.

I turned around and completely froze in place. The air seemed to disappear from my lungs as I watched the petite girl barely ten meters away from me.

This person in front of me... When did Akame get a haircut? And changed eye color? And when did she got smaller?

"Oh, shit. She has a sister." And she's giving me the same aura... Maybe even creepier.

"Want to play?" She seemed strangely unmotivated to do anything, but I had no doubt that she wouldn't fight seriously.

I instantaneously adapted my battle stance. She didn't even look interested in me, as she was eating cookies or whatever those things are. I want one.

She sighed over something, and pulled out a... katana. Which must be her teigu.

I felt a cold sweat covering my body, trying to convince me to run away. I was going to die either way, so better do it fighting to the death.

"Erm... Not going introduce yourself...? Tell me your purpose...?" I started talking, trying to avoid her glare.

...

Alright, that's just plain creepy. At least Akame said 'not my target'.

Oh... I am her target. Why am I trying to be funny? I'll die with a smile at least.

"Kurome, wait." A new voice appeared, making me even more confused.

A man with blue hair appeared shortly after, looking much more certain to fight me than her.

"You are...!" I recognized my new opponent. I saw him back then, in the marina...! Blue Jacket was a teigu user?!

I wasn't sure if I should relax or not, but I didn't move an inch. I don't know how much an inch is bu-

Damn it... I'm thinking too much again. What was I doing again? Oh yes. Fighting, erm, Kurome or Navy guy. I don't know why they don't just gang up on me. It's not necessary...

"I saw him first." The little sister said, not moving her glare from me. I don't know how strong she is, but if she is Akame's sister... It's surely somebody I don't want to fight.

If she's her sister... what's she doing in the Empire? Maybe she's just a fan. That must be it.

"...Come on, it's something personal. I'll treat you to breakfast if you let me fight him." Personal? We just met once... even then, I don't think it was a meaningful encounter. Unless he has something else to say?

I felt relieved as she finally stopped glaring at me, and sat down in the curbside of the street.

"I want to watch how you fail this one." She mentioned while eating more cookies, or sweets... I can't make out what they are. In any case, she sure has a lot of confident for him...

"Thank you for your confidence." He smiled one last time before facing me, unsheathing his one edged sword.

"So... a sword fight without those nice teigu abilities would be nice. But I guess that just breaks the purpose of having one in the first pla-"

"Alright. I won't use my teigu." I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised. Why did he accept! I was just making mindless chatter! "In exchange, I want you to tell me why." Eh? Why what?

"Why? Well, you have never been in the capital... So I'll explain it to you. Never in my life I have thought that people so inconstantly unjust would exist all in the same place. I'm fixing those problems, or at least, I was. Are the Jaegers involved in this inexplicable uprising too? Just to test me? Because believe me, the Empire would such things." I need a glass of water... I've talked too much in a short span of time.

"...That's not true. We don't have anything to do with this. On the bright side, it made the citizens run away... But I wasn't asking your motives. I was asking why start a month ago, if you really wanted to change the Empire, you would have followed the rules like you had been doing and at the very least, become a General." Why is he trying to understand me?

"If the match is rigged, following the rules is useless. Besides, I don't have a reason... I did it because I wanted."

A thick silence fell upon us. It isn't a lie, but it isn't the truth. I don't understand what he's trying to accomplish, though I don't really care. I won't live long enough to appreciate it.

I took advantage of this gap in time to find any kind of help. Even with those eight meters of distance between us, I'm sure he'd reach me in no time, so running away is useless. I have to make him stagger for a second and then lose them in the alleys.

"It was the pain of loss, wasn't it?" He said with a sad gaze. "Melancholy and sadness are the start of doubt... doubt is the beginning of despair; despair is the cruel beginning of the differing degrees of evil."

"Tsk... What are you a psychologist? I don't need your damn help. I'm not some emo guy you know? And what if I lost somebody? It doesn't matter what the hell I do, they'll never be back." I stoically replied. Why am I getting angry over this stupid jackass?

In order to do great things, nearly equal terrible things must occur. There could have been no heroic liberation if there were no wars; there would be no relief if there were nothing to be relieved from.

All light, no matter the shade, requires darkness around every corner. Do my shadows overwhelm my light? Or do they merely enhance its effect? That, I don't know.

"So that's what it is... You just want to die, but you're too weak end this yourself, isn't that right?! Answer me! All those threats, all those murders, it was only to find somebody strong enough to bring your demise?! What would she say if she saw you like this?!"

How the hell does he know her gender! He's trying to psyche me out! He must have read a report or something! How dare he try to use Seryu against me?!

"Don't talk about her like you know her!"

I felt the adrenaline rushing through my blood. My anger fueled my determination, and I jumped in for the kill without hesitation.

If I put everything into one attack while he's off guard, I might be able to outrun Kurome!

My ears plugged for a second, as my blade was stopped with his own. Never in my life I had felt something like this. It was like running into a wall. He didn't even flinch as our blades locked.

Out of reflex, I took some steps back. I breathed relieved as he didn't follow with an attack.

I know... I know the Jaegers are supposed to be strong. But after all my training, I thought I should be able to at least make a dent in their defense.

...This isn't even a fair fight.

One, two, three quick-steps. I couldn't see a gap in his stance, so I'll have to make one. Using one of my master's techniques, I feigned an attack that was easily blocked, and ducked. I thrust my sword into his neck, but I only sliced the air.

He had seen my move? Or is he very fast?

I attacked once again, but this time he was the one who ducked. I instantly knew what he was trying to do.

I barely was able to parry a sword that was heading right into my head, only to almost fell to the ground by the sheer impact.

My eyes widened in realization.

There was no way, even after another year of training, that I would be able to match him.

I was outclassed in every category. He was a _better _version of me.

My body felt cold. I was truly scared of dying. When I faced Akame, I was also scared of the _possibility_ of dying. Here, there wasn't a possibility. It was a fact. There wasn't a reset button to fix everything.

"That wasn't it, then. If you wanted to die, you wouldn't be scared. Then what was it? What forced you to do all those things?!" Reasoning with the enemy? Even I don't do that...

I didn't answer.

I couldn't avoid fate once, and my fate is to lose this battle.

I am truly pathetic.

_"The hell are you saying, Tatsumi?!"_

"I-Ieyasu?!" I felt my heart falling to the ground as I saw the vivid image of Ieyasu in front of me. Is this afterlife?! Have I died without realizing?!

_"You of all persons should know that in all times, a calm heart must prevail. Don't tell me you want to break our promise?!"_

"O-Of course I wouldn't do that!" I haven't forgotten, I promise!

"Eh...? Who are you talking to...?"

_"What did I tell you about thinking in the middle of a battle, Tatsu!" _S-Seryu?! T-That's totally her... but how does she have arms?!

What the hell... Why am I seeing my deceased friends?! I-I-I am going crazy?

Nobody is here...!

Nobody is here...!

Get out of my head...!

My head was filled with pain. Something was yelling at me. Not a human scream... In fact, I had heard this howl before.

It was the sword. The sword was making me think these things...!

_"What's draining your strength is your own doubt... I have never use a sword, but I know everything I taught you is still here."_ I felt a warm feeling in my temple.

"But because of me, you..." The hell... I'm talking to my head? Or is this the miracle I prayed for?

"O...Ok..This is getting kind of awkward..." I heard my combatant still talking to me.

_"Don't be silly. Sometimes life is too uncertain to have regrets... You have that teigu, don't you? If you manage to use it, nobody will stop you. But if what you want is a little push..."_

My relaxed stance slowly changed, as I felt somebody moving my arms...

That's right... I have a teigu. I have to borrow its strength to beat the Jaegers! And then...

_"And now what you have to say is..."_

I heard something in the sword changing, and I felt a red aura surrounding me... The teigu?

My opponent quickly got serious as he saw my spike in power. I don't know what just happened. But if Seryu and Ieyasu trust me, I know I will succeed!

"In the name of the absolute justice... I will not die today!"

There was no doubt about it. We moved at the same time. With the same leg. With the same determination.

Both of our swords connected in the center, rising briefly a dust cloud. I wasn't overpowered like last time, both of our attacks ended up in a status quo. Like opposite magnets, the blades separated just to connect again.

Remembering clearly Seryu's words, I applied her training in here.

Before our swords disconnected, I kicked his right feet making him trip. I tried a quick slash, but he used the fall to his advantage and avoided it.

He rolled in the ground and recovered, only to block my sword once again.

To my surprise, he did not opposed it. He let himself fall again to use my weight against me. It was a trap to leave me open.

My inertia made me fell to the ground, but something made me stop abruptly... I felt his feet right below my ribs. He really kicked me!

What is with this people hitting me always where Zank cut me?!

I rolled over him, and tried to catch my breath. That kick had left me without air...

This time he didn't leave me room to spare, and moved swiftly at me.

Unlike our previous encounter, between the random parries there was only one sound. The caustic sound of air being cut.

It was a dodge festival, not leaving strength in useless blocks. I could feel some blood coming out of my cheek and arms, from attacks I could have blocked. But right now, my own pride didn't let me be the first to stop this struggle.

A deeper cut between my ribs made me jump back to reassert my position. This was... getting exciting.

"Sorry about my last statement. I'm not giving up because I want to die, I'm simply not interested in it... I believe I did the right thing. Giving up my life and killing a few to save thousands seems like a good trade. You are a soldier too, right? You should know what I'm talking about." He shook his head before looking at me again.

"Of course I understand. That's the reason I chose this life. Then this whole battle... is just a battle of ideals?" I wiped the blood of my cheek before answering.

"And what battle isn't...?" I sighed over to the disheartening fact of my inevitable future."Would you... be kind enough to tell me your name?"

For a second, I thought he wouldn't say it.

"...Wave."

Alright... A fitting name for my bringer of death... Or just rather silly...

We synchronized our attack once again.

And then, out of nowhere... I punched him. It was something he wasn't prepared for. We were using both hands to wield our swords... and he knew it. I took advantage of that to break his defense.

His chest was free from any defense. There was no way his sword would be able to parry this thrust. I was confident I would win...

Until I saw something in his blue eyes. The same cross my sword had appeared in his eye.

An ungodly speed made him not only parry my attack, but he returned my punch with an amazing power. The force of the impact made me slide in the ground.

I got nervous. And confused.

With that strength, he will turn the odds in his favor. Where did he got all that strength from?! Was he holding back since the beginning?! I have to do it before he...!

I stopped myself and jumped forward with everything I had. I couldn't help but to shout for power, to gather all my will in one attack.

Both of our swords were heading towards the same direction, and like that, we sidestepped at the same time. But not good enough.

A sharp pain appeared in my abdomen... I wasn't quick enough, but this leaves his defense open too!

I had missed all his vital areas completely, as my sword only sliced in his shoulder.

He pushed me off, leaving both of our wounds bleeding without care.

If I was able to regain my position before he did, perhaps... I would have win.

I thought... he wouldn't be able to recover so quickly. He didn't stagger as I did. My arms were sore from all this strain. My legs were trying to search for a stability point, and my eyes helplessly watched how his sword was heading for my heart.

I closed my eyes, and awaited my fate.

Losing by somebody like this... Doesn't bother me at all!

...

Does this take so much time...? Maybe I'm already dead?

I opened my eyes to see a rather surprised Wave looking directly at me. He was literally upon me. But why don't I feel a cold feeling in me...?

My heart was beating with all his might, and I was breathing rather heavily for such a short fight. This surely doesn't feel like heaven.

"Ice...?" I muttered as I looked at the oddly placed ice below me. His teigu was stuck inside of it...

Wait a damn second... what's a piece of ice randomly appearing in the middle of... a... I hate teigus.

Was it Kurome? Or was it...

Suddenly my balance was lost in a sea of motion sickness. Somebody was kind enough to not let me fall to the ground, but I was already long gone.

* * *

I wasn't sure if I was death, but at this point might as well be. I had been utterly destroyed in a matter of milliseconds. I don't know what happen, or how...

When I opened my eyes, I was in a fumy cell inside of whatever prison the Empire has. Out of all the outcomes I had foreseen, this was definitely the worst one. I was going to be sentenced to death, or even worse. Tortured to death. My dumb luck is keeping me alive... even if I don't want to.

I'm completely unarmed, and there's nothing is this stupid cell. Damn, how will I kill myself without anything? Biting my own tongue?

I leaned back in a wall, trying to comprehend everything.

First off... I'm very crazy. Like... wow. I have not only heard voices, I even _saw _my friends. Guess that won't matter anymore. I'm going to see them soon.

And there's no second. My future is black, and red is the new black. I should have said my future is red, but then where is the fun? Probably in chapter seven...

At the very least, this isn't a confinement cell and it isn't too claustrophobic. I can even see through the iron bars thanks to the light of a lonely window, thought not too much. Everything else is devoured in shadows.

"Hm... Can I bend iron?" I mean... I've never tried it. But with this wound I won't be able to apply too much force. Speaking of which, it doesn't hurt. That can't be right.

"You could always try." A woman replied me back. The darkness didn't let me her.

Great... the jailer perhaps?

The steps of her heels were very clear to me. Maybe my senses had sharpened in this situation, but I couldn't hear anything else.

As she entered, the faint sunlight emphasized her figure.

Without anyone saying a thing, without her name given, like an unsolved puzzle solving itself... Just by seeing that figure I...

The Empire strongest general, the undefeated commander...

"Esdese...?"

Back then when I saw her in the graveyard, I just thought it was so totally unbelievable to still be alive and even compliment me... I couldn't believe it back then. No one would.

"Tatsumi... that's your name, right? It's a nice name." She was saying it so casually I didn't know if it was ironic.

Wait, it must be a deliration again. Or not...

"Th-Thanks? I guess..." My distrust was completely normal. But it looks like she doesn't mind.

"Your fight against Wave was magnificent. Even with the obvious gap in power, you still were able to contain him." I feel really uncomfortable with all these compliments... "I'd like to give you a reward for that display."

...Not that kind of reward. Stupid brain.

It must a deal or something to just live in a cell rather than dying.

"The goal of the Jaegers wasn't to kill me? I prefer dying right now rather than in a cell thirty years from now." I replied back, getting up from the dusty ground.

"Our goal was to capture you. Whatever happens after that hasn't been stated, correct?" She had it planned then...?

"What do you mean?" It surely couldn't be...

"I'm offering you a new life as my loyal guard. You'd only answer to me, and you wouldn't be bound by useless laws. " Eh...? it must be a hallucination or something...

This... is too good to be true.

"...Why would you need a bodyguard? I mean you are... you. Besides, how do you know I won't stab you in the back?" If she can obliterate armies by herself, why would I need to be close to her?

"Power isn't only strength, Tatsumi." Why does she say my name so... sensually? "For example, there are four walls in the Capital, and the Palace is the most fortified building known to man. Why need those walls if it's able to hold the enemies on its own?" Because knowing that there's even a bigger threat after those giant walls of death is horrifying.

"...What's the catch?" She seemed a bit surprised at my words.

"You would need to be always with me." She's just making me think bad! "You'd also be trained by me, but I don't think you'd mind." Well, obviously I wouldn't but... You didn't answer my last question!

It's just... too strange...

In the... possibility that this isn't a trap... I don't want to live bound to... her. But if I'm able to achieve their dying wishes...

"Would I... be able to become a General?" She grinned like she had been waiting for the moment. I just took the bait, didn't I?

"If you want to use your free time like that, I wouldn't mind." She's assertive, but somehow compelling.

"And what about my crimes? Some which I didn't do..." Like that stupid Ogre incident. Why am I still being accused of that?

"I said it was a new life, right? The Tatsumi who entered this cell has already disappeared."

I feel both insecure and peaceful. I don't know if I've ever done a right decision in my life before. I don't know how bad my choice will become. I can't even trust myself.

It took me a whole month just to trust Seryu, and I don't think I will do the same again. If I become friends with someone, they die. So the only thing I'll trust will be my sword.

Which didn't work...

"Then..."

I don't think anyone should think they are superior to everyone. But if I have to make her think I'm at her side... I'll have to play the underdog for a while...

I approached the iron bars and against every part of my body telling me to not do so, I kneeled down. I hoped I'd never do this but... It's for everyone's sake.

"I accept." My tongue didn't want to say this words, but after a small struggle, I said them. "...I'm at your service."

My whole ideals were screaming at me with all their strength. Never bow to no one? I've betrayed myself like this... Socrates followed his ideals to the death... I guess I'm not a philosopher.

"You don't need to do that. Do you hold your life so deeply?"

"...It's not my life who I want to save." I said while standing up, looking at her eyes.

I expected a reply, a laugh, a mock or anything. But she just scanned my soul like it was nothing.

Why isn't she saying anything?! I can't keep glaring at her like this...! I-It's awkward...!

"Do you remember me?" She finally averted her glare and opened the cell block, letting me out.

Now that I'm standing up, I realize that my wounds are bandaged...? Who did it? She wasn't going to take no as an answer, right? But that doesn't mean she did it...

"Back at the cemetery...?" I chuckled remembering that encounter... I should have really go back in time and punch myself.

"No." Those simple words made me doubt of my sanity again. "It was... some time ago."

Thanks for specifying... Not like it's a wide range of opportunities.

"...Sorry, I don't."

* * *

My heart wasn't at ease... I don't know where we were heading, but the beautiful garden didn't bring me any happy emotions.

I considered fleeing but I was in the Imperial Palace. A place where I couldn't make any mistake. Besides...

Why is she so close to me?!

Don't tell me she wants to keep me as se... slave! I don't want to be used you know! Please don't do anything while I'm asleep!

She totally lied to me, that must be it!

Wait, think about it... she returned my sword at the very least... And her actions seem genuine... Probably. The description I got before meeting her certainly wasn't pleasant.

Maybe she's like Seryu...

No, stop it. Think about something else.

I don't know if I'm in any position to ask anything... but I can try?

"W-What... happened with the insurrection? It happened in my district, after all..." I wasn't sure where to look, but I didn't want to watch her body even more closely...

"It was a simple nuisance. We dealt with it shortly after we captured you." By 'we' she means the Jaegers or her army?

"I-It's good to hear... Will I be able to go back?" For some reason I thought she would hit me, but she didn't let go of my arm.

"Tomorrow, maybe. The first day is always the hardest one. I expect great things from you too." I saw a small trait of pink in her face... I don't in what way she means it.

Alright, that settles it. She's totally in love with me.

This is...

If I can make her turn against the Empire...

I held back my laughter as my thoughts ran wild.

Yes... I'll take advantage of her feelings... And when I become a general, my rebellion will be complete! No blood will be spilled, and the world Ieyasu wanted will be completed! And partly... Seryu's world too.

I won't deserve to be called a gentleman, but it's for the greater good. I just have to play it off normally... I can't go out of character.

Besides... I'm actually really uncomfortable around her...

"So... What must I do? Just follow you around... or something?" It feels like it's the first time I have ever used the word 'must' in ages. At least this restricted freedom is useful to enrich my vocabulary. God knows I need that.

"Stay close to me at all times, observing bystanders and keeping away anyone you think is dangerous..." Wait... who in his right mind would attack you...

Do you even go out of this palace?! Do you even need to?!

"You should also train your planning, and problem-solving skills... It's always nice to hear a second opinion in a strategy."

And now I start to realize that I don't have any of those skills. I'm barely able to keep my soldiers aliv-

"I can teach you." She answered my thoughts, as if reading them.

Well, isn't she treating me too nice...

"T-Thanks... So just being around you and making sure to beat everyone."

Did she choose the term bodyguard so my own dignity would be intact, or is it just to keep me around her? She doesn't seem like the type that would mess around with those useless games. Maybe she really thought about me... In any case, this wouldn't have much dang-

Oh shit.

Night Raid.

How could I forget about them?! No, no, no, that's a big no. Well, just half no. I'm not giving my life to protect hers! I prefer to make a path for them...!

"...And where would I sleep? I mean, if I have to be around you..." I don't like where this is going.

"In my room, where else? I have to make sure you don't escape." And she just said it so nonchalantly...

I don't think arguing back will bring me any good. I'll just pray for the heavens, and hope she doesn't try anything weird.

I m-mean... I wouldn't mind making, uh, love to her... But my mind is obviously saying it would be a poor choice. Em... The first time has to be special, right? With the one you love...

And at this rate, I won't ever find that woman.

W-What the hell, I've never thought of this things before... Well, maybe I have, but it wasn't... I should probably stop thinking.

"So... Am I going to meet the Jaegers...?" Seriously, because I don't know what are we doing walking around this garden...

"No." She said with a cold tone.

I was scared to reply... but somehow I kept pressing. I honestly can't find a reason not to.

"W-Why? Is it because... I should be dead? Because, we are kind of walking in the middle of this garden." Not literally... but yes.

"That's not it. You can't meet them today, for your own good.." Eh? What could it be then...? They are not here? No, that would be easily explained. Perhaps they are injured? Unlikely. They are scared of me? I doubt it.

A clash of ideals perhaps...? I don't think I hate anyone in the Jaegers, even if I only met three of them.

I still wanted to ask her more questions... But I didn't want to sound too pushy. I don't know how to act around her and I also don't want to be around her. However, this is for a better future...

Right... A future that didn't exist until she spared my life. I should be grateful, but for some reason I feel different... Like... grapes.

"Can... Can you return my arm...?" She's taller than me, shouldn't I be gr- Oh, almost got me there. Not doing that.

...Hello? Lady...? ¡Why isn't she answering!

"Do you want Wave to apologize, Tatsumi?" Stop saying my name like that! It's making me nervous!

"Wait, why? D-Did he do something while I was unconscious?!" Her incredulous expression made me feel awkward...

Wait, why did you change of subject so quickly? Return my arm!

"He used his teigu, something he agreed not to do. That is obviously punishable." Why is she so serious about it? I should have win yes... but I'm still alive, and that's what matters.

"I really don't... W-Wait, don't drag me!"

* * *

I never thought of seeing the corridors of the Palace, and it really does live up to its name. You can feel the fanciness in the air, and even then, you can see this is a great fortress.

After a while, we reached a not so small room.

This must be their reunion room or something. Honestly it looks more like a living room. A good mahogany table in the middle, and everything else is nicely decorated. At the very least, she has stopped being so close to me. I guess that she has still to maintain her... eh, dominance?

I saw two figures talking, well more like only one...

"Commander? What i- Why is he here?! You were serious about that earlier?!" Wave started to freak out as soon as he saw me. I can't blame him.

He instantly got up from the chair and acquired a distinctive pose. Even then, it seemed that... what was her name... Kurome, didn't have such modals.

"I'm always serious." She answered with fearsome speed.

Even then, it looked like Kurome didn't care as long as she was eating something. D-Does that bag really have her name?

"I see... Yeah. Is there something you need?" It looks like Esdese and Wave aren't really acquainted. Nothing strange, seeing how the Jaegers were assembled just a few days ago. Or maybe they have that creepy relationship...

I don't know what's wrong with me today.

"I still don't understand, but I guess now we are on the same team." He forcefully held up his hand, along with a troubled smile. Obviously I tried to kill him just a few hours back, and he did the same. It's very weird...

"We are cooperating. Nothing else." I looked away, refusing to move from the spot.

Sorry... it's for your own good. When everything gets lonely I can be my best friend, so it's not like...

"At least _I _am trying to be nice." He retorted back displeased.

"Wave. Have you already forgotten?" Esdese reprimanded him like she was her mother, but it seemed that whatever she had told him before, made him sigh sorrowfully.

"Fine... Sorry for using my teigu. I didn't do it on purpose. People say that the flesh of Tyrant is alive, but I never thought it was _that_ alive." Tyrant? Perhaps my sword is also made from Tyrant? He had that strange cross too.

Wave... isn't that bad of a person... He tried to understand my motives before. He isn't the ordinary soldier one might think of at first glance. Even then, how did he know about Seryu? The Empire has been watching me for quite some time... Even then...

"Don't do it again." He looked at me confused before answering.

"Well, I mean, I didn't know. It just triggered off by itse-"

"No, don't mention again whatever you've learnt about me. Besides... it isn't fair that you have an advantage over me..." Just being nice, nothing else. Not trying to have friends.

"...Haven't you changed of personality too quickly...?" Eh? "Now that I remember, you were talking to somebody while we fought but there wasn-"

"Tatsumi? You must be tired... Let's go to my room." What.

Wave, save me!

I looked desperately at him, who just shrugged me off like a tissue.

DAMN TRAITOOOR!

* * *

T-This is just the same situation as that brothel. Just don't feel anything, don't look at anything, don't touch anything...

Why is she taking a shower... I AM THE ONE WHO SHOULD BE TAKING ONE.

Calm down...

That's it... normal breathing. Nothing bad is going to happen... Well, even if something happens, it shouldn't be bad...

No, stop it pervert! You've had your time, now go back to sleep!

And here I am, sitting in a bed, waiting for... nothing. Sleep. It isn't that late, but it's probably because I haven't been able to sleep a lot... Although I'm feeling strange. It feels like my mind wants me to do something, but I know it isn't right. Have I forgotten something? I can't tell anymore.

I don't think I should have come here. I'll just do something bad again and then... then...

I should stop breathing and end all this... I don't think a lot of people would care. And why would I care? I wouldn't be alive. But I have to accomplish their w-

"Would you stop with that glare?!" I turned around trying to hit whoever was doing that, but I only hit the air.

What the... I just felt someone looking at me. That can't be right.

He he... Now I'm going insane? Even more than last time.

Maybe I never woke up, and I'm in the shadow realm. Walking endlessly into abyss? That's such a lame way to die. I could be just dreaming everything and I wouldn't know, or say that the idea is stupid. Who knows if I have a mental disorder and I'm crazy, because I don't think hearing voices in my head is normal.

I'm pretty sure I have already think of this... No matter, think of something else.

I... should try to convince her. Yes... somehow. Maybe not right now, but with time. Telling her everything right now would be pretty much stupid, because I don't know where her limits are.

Just... don't feel anything, don't look at anything, don't touch anything...

Ah! Crap! I'll have to face her, or else she'll think I'm not into her!

AH NO! That's exactly what she'll think, so if I look at her, then she'll think I'm just doing it for the prize! Then... I don't know! Cross-eyed perhaps?! What would Seryu say?!

_"She's going to be my sister-in-law!" _

Not helping!

"Sorry for making you wait." Like a normal person would do, I turned around to see her and, well, part of me likes that decision. The other part is questioning if this is following the anime or manga route. Either way.

I don't know if she's only wearing a shirt to tempt me, seduce me or all at once. In any case, the only thing I'm thinking is...Don't look at her boobs, don't look at her boobs, don't look at her boobs.

Big... Damn it, I looked!

Back away! I knew the devil would tempt me in some way!

"N-Not at all!" Don't look away from her eyes... Don't do it...

Maybe a peak... DAMN IT.

"Would you like a drink?" She sat down beside me, making my hormones go crazy.

I thought I was over this phase...! Alright, she's just an attractive young lady, nothing else, not my wife or anything. A complete stranger... and that just makes it even more weird for some reason.

"N-No thanks." God knows if she has thrown some ruffies in there...

"Hmm? Are you nervous?" She leaned against me as she said those words.

"No! I mean..." What kind of nervous? Nervous of dying by doing the wrong move, or nervous because you are half naked? Of course, I'm not going to say that...

"You really are a cute one." She started blushing as she said those words.

...Why is she so direct... It's like Seryu saying justice all over again, but instead of random words, they are compliments that make me uncomfortable. Maybe Seryu was in love with me...

Tsk... why would I think that in this situation...

Oh! Being depressing really brings down m-

"Well, I'm not quite sure what to do in this situation, either." She averted my gaze before I got depressed. Actually, I know what to do in this situation, and that's why I'm nervous. Because I don't want it to happen. No body, _I _am in control. "But I'm sure we'll figure it out, as long as we know what we want."

That was a very good expression. But in this context, it's...

I have to change of topics. If I manage to turn her off or something, I'll be able to... maintain my pureness.

"Um... I'd like to ask you something." Choose the words carefully or we'll get screwed. In... a lot of ways. "You... You like me, right?" That's good! Now, tell her your motives a-

I couldn't react as a warm feeling ran through my lips. My body just overloaded when she embraced me and, it completely shut itself down when we both shared the kiss.

Why didn't I thought about this!

Bad touch! Bad touch!

Her weight was on my body, and just like that I was already having a heart attack. I reckon she noticed my flustered face and irregular breathing, because she... at least... got off me, but didn't let me go.

"If I didn't like you, I wouldn't be doing this." She said, almost like a whisper.

S-Say something! C-Continue!

"T-Then, I... I was going to request you something." It seemed like it caught her attention, and let me move... a bit.

I leaned against the bed, assuming a much... better position.

"Oh? What is it? Say it clearly so I can hear you." It sounded almost like a challenge. Does she know what I'm going to say?

I have to make her understand that I am not from the Revolution, and tell her that I want to change the Empire. I don't know how I'll end up if I explain it wrong. Probably in some strange sado-maso relationship.

"As it is right now... The Capital is the center of corruption. I haven't joined the Army just to help my village, I want to fulfill one of my friend's wishes and make every citizen enjoy of a good life." If she was displeased by my words, she didn't show it.

The Empire is everyone who lives in it, not those selfish governors.

"The Empire represents power and order... If that image is destroyed by the Revolution, then they won't be here for long. That's why I... don't mind fighting against them." Try to get on her good side. She has to see that I am in the same side, more or less.

"But I won't tolerate more of the Empire's useless violence and abuse! I'll change everything from the inside. So that's why, getting rid of the Emperor will be much easier with you beside me!" Please don't hit me, please don't hit me!

"Then you want me to join a coup d'État? Even if that means that I'll be in your way?" No, shit! No, no!

"Then... I'll just have to surpass you. I'll be better than you in...everyway..." I shouldn't have said that.

I seriously expected a bitchslap or something along those lines right about now. However, she just avoided completely what I said.

"I'll keep thinking the same way even if you refuse to join me." I continued saying, trying to get her to understand, but judging by the looks, I preferred her much more when she was horny...

"After all, you haven't changed since the last time we met." She finally started talking. We've only meet once before... And we didn't talk at all. What is she saying?

"I understand that you've endured a lot in the past, but you don't need to think like that anymore. You'll be happy if you stay with me."

She finally moved away from me. Somehow, I don't feel relieved.

"You won't ever feel lonely ever again, I consider you my only man after all. We can be happy together... And I can protect your family, if you wish."Out of all the compliments she had said this day, this one was the only one I felt her feelings were genuine. She really... loves me...

But can't she understand? My happiness can't be achieved... like that. When everyone is happy, I will be too. What is the point of everyone's suffering, if I stare at them like they're just filth?

She is the strongest of the Empire... she'd never understand how we feel.

Maybe it was my adrenaline, or the will to life slipping away from my body. But for some reason I got up in the bed and clenched my fist.

"That's not it. Maybe it's true and I will be happy. In any case, you can't comprehend how the weak feel right? Then I'll make you understand. _I will surpass you_. And then you'll feel how it feels to be trampled like dirt..."You'll suffer like everyone... That... sounded a bit sadist.

"Oh my, I didn't know you liked it rough." Oh come on! "Being better than me doesn't only mean to be stronger. You'll have to be a better General than me. And then, I will lend you my strength." How can I still find her scary when she's almost naked I do not know.

Oh... Holy molly, she's actually thinking about it?! But what does she mean being a better General?

"I'm always looking for a fight... if you are the person who beats me, it will just make me love you even more." After those happy phrases, a scowl made me once again fear for my life. "Don't mention this again. I'm still a General of the Empire you ought to remodel, and I'll have to punish you." Damn it context...

"W-Well, now that this is out of the way, I'll... inspect the surroundings... Bodyguard things." My lies keep getting better.

I carefully tried to escape the room, but she thwarted my plans. Again.

"Should I mention the fact that you will die if you make a scene inside of the palace?" I felt my heart rush once again, but thankfully it was out of fear. Never thought I'd said those words...

Whatever, I just need to be with her temporarily. I don't know how much it will take to become a General, and I also have to be stronger than her. That's impossible... Alone.

I have to find allies inside and outside this walls. I'm sure there's people who think like me and don't want a civil war... I just have to find them.

Besides... I have to kill that mad scientist.

* * *

Promise?

Koro, Koro, Kroo,Kuor, Kooo...

Daaaaa... Don't do thaaaaaat...

The girl... where can she stay for the night? Nea... Nea?

Why hit me...? He did nothing wrong...

Seeker...? Seika...?

Look... no arms... Praise me...

Dizzy... Blood...? Lots and lots... Seeker... Seika...?

Night... It heet everything, waeha... whatis wat is goin oon? Am in hying?

Split! Ropopo, it's like a kitchen!

Peeh...Why is no one around? Call me... Om, ad... Can I play on the swing, aaad?

That's not yours... Koro is mine... Mine...? Mein...?

Give it back, it's mine.

"Any more than this... it's impossible..."

Melt... I'm melting... I don't have bones...?

Squishy... Ice-cream... I'm an ice-cream cone.

Promise. I have... a promise.

Melt, melt... This isn't time to be melting...

I have to run. He is... waiting?

I have a...

Promise...?

Koro, Koro, Kroo,Kuor, Kooo...

Daaaaa... Don't do thaaaaaat...

The girl... where can she stay for the night? Nea... Nea?

Why hit me...? He did nothing wrong...

...

* * *

**Well, that was... a trip and a half. I even forgot to reply to PMs. Now I don't want to reply late because they'll think I'm an assh*le. Why am I censoring myself I don't know.**

**By the way. I screwed up. Screwed up big time. I was wondering why the hell nobody was mentioning _that _obvious thing. I ******* forgot to write it. I'm literally bashing my head with a hammer because of that. It was even written down in the first ****** page of my notebook. Now I'll have to mention it next chapter and is going to be AWKWARD for everyone.**

**Anyway... Now I feel those gears turning. Everything has been set in place, and all the conditions have been met. For some reason, I suddenly realized some similar points with Code Geass... No don't worry, it really won't happen.**

**What a strange uprising, eh? Just to kill one man...? I mean, what really had changed from canon for _that _to happen. Eh? EH?! I mean, it's not obvious yet... THIS TIME I'LL REMEMBER TO POINT IT UP. ****And Tatsumi is being the insane bastard that... doesn't make sense. No really, think about it. THINK.**

**Ah yes, next chapter it's going to be that final "slash" and actually making that character development I've been craving for since chapter one.**

**So... what do you think? Did I screw up anything else? I mean, besides the obvious that is not obvious for you all. **

**Tell me your thoughts as always. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed and favorited this story!**

**Next chapter... Kind of sad to not see that Stylish hate _except _that last review. And some random Esdese things nobody will remember... Probably.**

**THANKS AS ALWAYS!**


	12. Disoriented Captain

**Enslaved Soldier Arc**

_**Disoriented Captain**_

* * *

It's been a long time since I have written something, and my grip in the pencil felt unnatural. Even then, I managed to write down a few paragraphs, though most of them were random ideas. I have never made a speech, and now that I have to do one, asking for help would be the obvious thing. Except for me.

I obviously won't ask Esdese. We have very... distinct ideals, so she'd probably rip out my spine after freezing my chest. Wave... I can't talk to him, I would get attach somehow. The rest are discarded for obvious reasons. Kurome scares me. Bols scares me. Run... well, he seems too good for my own good. And Unknown number one, well, never seen him. Probably will murder him first sight though...

So I just have the help of...

Yeah, my inner craziness.

I was in the Palace's gardens. Royal gardens or whatever, I don't know the terminology. I could see most of the south of the Capital, and even if there was a bit of wind once in a while, I didn't need to bother as I had a notebook. It's kind of strange to be burrowing this from Esdese, but I'll tear off whatever I write.

I heard somebody slowly approaching me.

"Ah? I thought nobody would be here. Excuse me." Run apparently had thought the same as me, and it seemed like he wanted to read something as he had a book in his arms.

"You can stay. I don't really have any inspiration." I said while I got up from the ground. I don't feel my legs. He looked at my hands for a second before talking again.

"You know how to write?" His expression was surely one of surprise.

"Eh, yes. My mother taught me. I guess I'm privileged." Most people in the Empire are illiterate. If you don't have money, you can't pay for an education. My mother was lucky and while she was living in a church when she was young, the priest was kind enough to teach her to write and read.

"You already know more than 80% of the population. If you don't mind, could you stay for a second?" I couldn't make out anything beyond his mask, but it seemed too sketchy.

"I have better things to do." I gently pushed him aside and continued walking.

"You forgot this." I stopped, looking back confused.

M-My notebook!

"This incident, this rebellion, took place because young lives wanted to correct the faults of my own imperfecti-" I quickly snatched my notebook with a quick swipe, before he could read anything else.

"Don't you know reading personal... things is rude?"

"Forgive me, but it's a speech, right? After all, you still have to explain what happened." I know what he's thinking. And that's not possible.

"I don't need your help. I have everything under control." Everything... Everything...

"...Have you ever talked in front of so many people before? In any case, you aren't really trying to be social with us. Don't you think there might be some problems?" He explained without breaking character.

"Em... It's not like I want to be friendly." However...

Could he be an ally...? Perhaps he acted like he did for pity, but he didn't really seem to mind when I said those words back then. There's always the possibility that he knew and didn't care. I have to confirm it, somehow.

"When you confronted me a week ago, you said something about working with each other in another situation. This is another situation, so... what did you want?" I still couldn't read him, but I could see his smile diminish.

"Exactly. This is another situation, and that's why I won't say anything." Sneaky bastard...

"Alright then... Why didn't you follow me after I threw the grenade?" I asked once again, to receive a similar answer.

"Who says that I wasn't following you? You never looked up." Is he avoiding my questions on purpose?

"That's not what I was asking! I was totally open, right? You could have killed or capture me! And even dance in my head!" It looks like I'm being lured into a trap, but I can't back down now.

"I wanted to see how you interacted with your soldiers. You ordered them to fight and even kill their own comrades, _but _they still trusted your judgment." He's making me push for something, but what is it?

"I was just the only officer on the field..." I pushed it aside like it was nothing, but he still insisted again.

"Had they been on a fight before? Had they killed before? They didn't ask for your help because you are their superior. They asked for your help because you are their leader." Leader? Isn't that the same thing? "You're barely an adult, but you somehow connect with a lot of people. And still. _Still._ You are in the Empire. That's the reason I didn't attack."

I didn't say anything for a few seconds. I hadn't looked at the whole picture.

"But... People follow me because they think I'm from the Revolution. If they find out I'm Esdese's bodyguard... If they find out that I kneeled for my life... Everyone will hate me." He turned the whole conversation. Damn.

"Then make sure to make it clear with that speech. You aren't a member of the Revolution. You aren't a soldier of the Empire." I quickly interrupted him while making sure my pencil didn't fly into space.

"You just said you didn't kill me because I was in the Empire." That's a contradiction!

"And what is the Empire?" A sensation of deja vu rushed in my body.

The Empire are the citizens. But how does he...?

"You distracted those assassins while everyone ran away. It was very obvious you didn't want to fight. So why stall time like that, just to run away? You could have used the civilians as a shield, right? You cared about their wellbeing."

That was just...

"Wait, you didn't answer my question." He faked surprise, like he was expecting every word. He's like a puppeteer...

"My answer shouldn't bother you. Besides, you should use your freedom more wisely." He started to walk away, leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I could have followed him, but I'm not sure what were his intentions. I'll just have him in the list of possible help.

And speaking of using my freedom...

* * *

The slums of the capital were big, not gigantic, but they covered at least a nice 20% of the city. And that is a lot. However, people still try to be happy even in their poor conditions. From my perspective, to be able to smile in this condition shows that they are strong. But not for her. No, for her that isn't strength. She'd say something like; if they're strong, why aren't they living a better life? Why aren't they fighting for one?

I couldn't understand her reasons, but in a sense, she could be right. And then, our ideals were totally separated from the root.

The strong have the right to rule over the weak ones? No. _No. _

_The strong ones must protect and help the weak ones, so they can become strong too._

This is what I think, and no matter how hard she tries, she won't change me. If I have to change to love her... then we can't be in love. I think...

I also don't think it was necessary to tie me into a chair to introduce me to the Jaegers. I bet she enjoyed too, in some way...

But I have a secret mission right now. I'm using the... great free time she lent me to find one person. Yeah, you know who.

And I know of a person who might find him. After all, I did save her daughter.

The last time I came here was to find information about Zank... I hope they still remember me, or at least her father.

I knocked on the door three times and awaited for an answer. I didn't bring any insignia of my position in the Army for... security purposes. The slums obviously support the Revolution, and that means more oppression and random lynches for them, sadly.

"They're not here...?" Now that I think about it, I haven't seen anyone as I entered this part of the town. They _can't _know that I am her bodyguard, right? I'd freak out and hid too if I knew that.

No, the reason lays somewhere else. Everyone is scared. Scared of the Jaegers. In a way, I could be scared too, of that unknown member. More like angry, as I think I know the answer, but nobody confirms it. Each time I ask Wave, he avoids the question... And I'm scared of asking the Ice queen.

Bols is creepy, and Run... well, he's creepy in a much formal way. It's like he knows me, but I don't know anything about him. Disturbing is a good word...

Just as I was about to leave, the door slowly opened.

"Tatsumi?" A hoarse voice finally answered, leaving me a bit relieved.

"Ah, hello. I was thinking if you could..." The door opened up, and Nea's father let me inside with a troubled face.

"Not here. Come in." His voice reminded me of the situation he was in.

I'm pretty sure he has been working with the Revolution, hence he is a traitor like I wa- am. The difference is, he has to protect a little girl who cannot see. If anything, risking his life to be able to survive... I have to give him props.

His little home was barely decorated, even less than the house we had back in my village. The life I had there was much better than what he has, and I assure you, it wasn't very good. Winters be damned... The fact that I have three meals everyday was something new to me some months ago.

"Are you leaving the city?" I mentioned, closing the door behind me.

"...I hope I could. At the very least is good to know that we have somebody inside the army." I chuckled a bit. Why does everyone think that I'm from the Revolution...?

"Y-Yeah, indoctrinate from the inside. And things I can't really say..." Because I don't really know what to say. "I actually came for a favor."

"I believe I already pay you back with that info of Zank, right? Everything's too hot right now." The man sat down in a clunky chair, too tired to stand up.

"...I'll pay this time. I need to know the localization of a man named Stylish." The man gave me a strange look before laughing again.

"That man is wanted everywhere! I've been months looking for any kind of lead. By the way, quite the spectacle you gave one month ago. If you hadn't make him flee like that, I'd never find one of his bases!" Yeah... spectacle.

"One of them? Please, tell me where." If he has more bases... then shit. But I'll be able to destroy one of them at the very least.

"You seem a bit obsessed, eh? Well, wait here for a second." The man tediously got up and started looking in one of his drawers, trying to find whatever reminder or something.

"Thank you."

Seryu's body... I have never seen it. Ieyasu's was burnt and Sayo's was... lost. I'm sure, no, I'm certain Stylish has her body, not sure why. But I'll know. He's just a coward that hides behind his bodyguards, doing whatever inhuman experiments. I will avenge you...

"Tatsumi...?" I heard the weak voice of a girl grabbing one of my hands.

"Oh? Nea? I thought you were asleep." I kneeled down to get on her level, even if she couldn't see me. "You have grown up a lot since last time!" The girl gave a small smile, as she slowly touched my left hand.

"Your hand is very cold... Why are you so sad?" Huh? She has a sixth sense or what...?

"Whaaat? I'm not sad, I'm a bit tired from all this boring stuff. I'm the only one who can beat the bad guys." I tried to sound a bit happier, just to make her feel better.

"You should find someone who makes you happy." ...Weird words.

I wish I could find that person.

"You're too young to think that stuff." His father said those words as he pulled out a small map of the Empire.

"It was... around here. About a hundred kilometers away from Jelkala, in these mountains. They're probably filled with snow, but is the only thing I found. He only appeared every two months, but now he's going there in a span of... three days."

This is... This is around my village! Was this fate? Another stupid game of fate to laugh at me?!

"... I'll be leaving now. Thank you very much. Come over to the Cloud District if you ever need more help." I slightly bowed, not before saying a personal goodbye to Nea.

"Good luck. You'll probably face worse dangers than me."

* * *

Getting inside the Palace was still troublesome, even if the guards knew me. They were really dedicated to protecting this place, even when Esdese has told them to not bother me. I don't even want to know what they do to strangers.

After that struggle, the rest was pretty calmed. I had to climb up too many stairs, but besides that small problem, nothing bad at all.

Except that getting here means being in danger of dying. And that's just Monday. Although I would have liked another cup of tea, but it's been ages since that tea week spree. Don't know what the hell happene- Ah... Right...

I'm depressing.

I reached the meeting room where the Jaegers use to be in, though nobody was there. Even then, I sat down in a chair and looked awkwardly at the ceiling.

What do people do for fun...? Hm...

Hmm...

Hmmmm...

I don't know, playing... Solitaire? Poker...? Strip poker...?! Strip Solitaire?!

I meant other kinds of fun! Like, hanging out with frien- Oh, right. Don't have one of those.

"_That's because you're a peasant. Coarse peasant. Coarse anti-social peasant."_ And then there's my craziness manifesting once again. Her appearances are becoming way too common. Too common for a normal person.

"She didn't say those things..." I said looking away from the voice.

_"Maybe I'm actually a ghost. Yes! Ghost of the future-present! I'm here to give you three lessons!"_ What is that illness that gives you hallucinations?

I hid myself between my arms, and immediately felt the weight of my body augment without care. It's so comfy here...

_"Stop that."_

"...Stop what?" Blergh, I almost tasted the table...

_"Ugh, I'm going to go for an imaginary walk with my imaginary dog until you're fun again!_"

I want to have fun...

But I can't. I can't until I've accomplished everyone's wishes... And then... I'll be...

Oh right. I have to set up my group. But who could be a suitable ally...?

Besides Run, who is still in the very distant list of possible allies, I don't really know anyone else. Maybe Wave, though I have to find how he really thinks. It's not like I don't want to be friendly with him, but he's too kind with everyone. Surely, we would be friends in another time...

To sum up, I only have one possible ally inside of the Palace. And outside... Well, besides obviously the soldiers I'm in charge of, nobody else.

Maybe I can make Night Raid target certain people? Although I don't know how to contact them, if I could just make them kill my superiors... That'd be too easy, but I'm open for all options.

Besides, that blond girl kicked me. And the red-haired girl used me. And Akame stole Zank's teigu. That was my kill! And... whoever killed Seryu is going to...eh... Well, there goes all the bad things I can say about them.

Now good things. Akame didn't kill me. Twice. That's it.

I know only one of them killed Seryu, but it's just normal to feel upset.

I suppose I always could ask Mein, but the chances are close to zero. Pretty sure she hates me... for some reason.

Oh yeah. Being with the enemy. I don't know why she hates me for that, I mean, I'm not really that upset, she just chose whatever she thought was right. In any case... we've met barely three times. So maybe I just did a bad first impression.

Wait, she was the one who pointed that gun at me first! I should be the one who is angry!

Whatever...

I'm pretty calmed...

Yes... Comfortable... And nobody is embracing me to death...

.

.

.

... That was a nice nap...

Oh...

Totally forgot about meeting with Esdese! Well... then I guess I don't have to worry about anything again.

I rubbed my eyes while leaning back in the chair again. My back hurts...

The sun was gone, and the candles were the only source of light. Did somebody enter and just leave me here?

I noticed a black patch in my shoulder, and before freaking out because I don't have black clothes, I checked what was it.

I've never seen this clothes... but they're way too casual to be Esdese's. But just to check...

...Yeah, smells like Esdese. Kinda nice actually... like icecre-

Weird, how do I know that? Oh right, sleeping in her room.

Damn, I'm really dense today. I'm forgetting everything! It's not my fault. It's not like I kill people and barely feel anything. Except when it stains my clothes. I'm traumatized since that night...

"You're awake?" A voice startled me as I was still half-sleep.

"Oh... I'm sorry, for oversleeping." Esdese's smile told me to not bother, but I felt compelled to do it. After all it was my fault.

"I can't train you if you're tired." She wasn't wearing her uniform, which meant it was really late. At least she's wearing something else than a shirt...

Oddly, she sat down in front of me rather than at my side. Which I should remind you, it's not a complain.

"...What is it? Ah! This is yours." I handed over the jacket, wondering if she had seen me smelling it...

"You can keep it, as a reminder to not sleep again." But we live in the same room, what's mine is yours and... That came out wrong again...

"T-Thanks? Erm..." I probably should stop asking her questions. I have to show her that at least I try. "Do you want something? You seem too distant..." I pointed out.

"Maybe I do want something. But in the meantime, you can still improve in an important aspect." She got up from the chair, and headed over to one of the two drawers of the room.

She pulled out a small box, which had strange black and white patterns in the front.

"Have you ever played chess?" Never heard of it.

"Well, it's a game... And... No, not really." There's really no point in lying.

"I'll explain it to you, but only once. Let's see how cunning you are." This is going bad already...

* * *

"Alright... Although I thought my first battle with you would be with swords not with pieces of chess." I mentioned as soon as she ended explaining the game.

"I still have to test you in other fields." The only thing I've done this week is sweating like a pig after hours of exercise, nothing strange. Unless... Don't think of that.

So... eight Pawns, two Knights, two Rooks, two Bishops, one Queen and one King. Each kind has its own set of moves... but the real kicker is that I have to not only have my own set of tactics and strategy, I also have to predict hers...

I guess this is like a real battle. Pawns are regular soldiers while rooks, knights, bishops and the queen are teigu users. And somehow the King is... wow, like our Emperor. Doesn't really do anything and needs to be protected.

In any case... I'm pretty screwed.

"White has the first move." She briefly explained, observing carefully what I would do.

I guess I'll move this pawn...? It's just the first move, how could I do something wrong?

She didn't say anything, so I'll just assume I did something wrong and she just didn't want to hurt my feelings.

"Tell me, why are the pawns fighting for their king?" She moved one of her middle pawns.

"... I suppose he's done something wrong to be in a war, but if they're fighting to death, I suppose he's a good king" Using the gap I made with a pawn, I moved one bishop. I'm not really sure I should have done that...

"Really? What did he do to deserve such a title?" She moved one of her black knights. Well, that pawn is at risk now... If I move it forward, the pawn she moved will defeat him. But if I don't move it, the bishop can protect him.

Wait, why are we making our own story here?

"I guess he has ended a great famish, punished the corrupts, or is trying to make the town's lives better all together." I responded while moving my white knight similar to hers.

"What a nice king..." She said ironically. She moved another one of her pawns. I should have done that too...

"Why? What is it?" I moved another pawn, once again mimicking her movement.

"It seems that those ideas aren't helping him right now." Oh no... I screwed up!

She used one of her bishops, defeating the pawn I had just moved. And the worse thing was...

"Check." Already?! "If he hadn't been so selfless, perhaps his country would have lasted longer. And now everyone will be enslaved, just because he didn't thought of the consequences of his acts." So she's using this battle to influence me somehow...

"Who says that he was selfless?" I moved back the bishop, and covered that life-threatening gap. "He is married to a beautiful woman, who is also his strongest warrior. He accepted the fact that she could die at any moment, because he loved her. He did it so she wouldn't be alone..." Too cheeky for my liking, but makes sense.

"Perhaps she wasn't alone." She thankfully retreated the bishop that almost ended the match in three turns. "The only thing she wanted was more power, and marrying a King would be delightful for that."

"It's normal. They're just power hungry nobles. It'd be strange if that didn't happen." I decided to move another pawn, not really sure what to do.

"You seem to have a very low perspective of the aristocracy." She wondered for a moment what piece to use, before moving her other black knight. "Then what about the bishop?"

I stopped for a moment to reconsider my strategy. I should really think of my movements. If I moved this Knight next to hers, it would be pretty safe.

"Well, everyone has the right to believe what they think it's right. I don't really believe in god, but I don't mind if somebody does. Oh... I mean, the king wouldn't really care as long as they are loyal." She's trying to see my ideals? Or maybe it was my mistake.

"And that should be a mistake, right?" As soon as I finished my move, her other knight ate my poor pawn. "Just another power hungry beast, trying to leech of the confidence of the king, like you've said."

I have to attack too... I can defeat this pawn with the knight, with no repercussion.

"Then the king should have chosen them more carefully."

As soon as I defeated the pawn, I realized that she was going to make me lose the knight. That freaking bishop... You've taken another piece!

"You should pay more attention to your surroundings." She advised me, not really losing her stance.

"Right..." I'll move this pawn...

"...What did I just say? Check." Oh come on! The freaking bishops are winning this game for her!

"...The freaking king should fight too!" A bit of frustration was starting to build up inside of me, as I moved the king to a safe place... "He should be fighting for his country...!"

"There are people that do that for him. And sadly for him those people are dying." One of her knights, once again, destroyed my bishop.

Damn it... then, perhaps if I move this rook... I'll be able to do a bit of damage.

"Then what about the rook you just moved? The battle is not going well, and yet he's moving forward."

The rook is somebody that has a lot of confidence in the king...

"Well... she's fighting because it's what is right for her, not for the country... just for her king. She just needs a goal in her life..." I grimaced for a second, as her knight put me in trouble again.

I slightly jumped as she placed down the knight quite harshly.

"Check. So it's a she?" D-Did I say she...? Why did the atmosphere thicken all of a sudden?! "So, What did she do to deserve such a praise?"

I gulped as I moved one of my pawns to prevent the check.

"Erm... It's just... She was... She is... The king's sister?" I felt my heart rushing and pleading for more oxygen. I didn't know chess could be so intense!

"Incest isn't well seen in the church. Or in the public in general." She used her bishop once again, eating the pawn that saved my life. "Check."

"W-Why are you saying that all of a sudden...? She just cares for her brother. Like any sister would do." My knight opposed once again her bishop, saving once again the king.

"...Your knights have fallen." She used one of her own knights to accomplish her order, leaving me without my poor white knights. "I think you should speak more about your bishop, before he dies too." Well aren't you nice...

"So... She only fights for her own sake, but she still cares about others... Until she was merciless killed for being too naive. If this world was right... She would still be with m- him." Damn it I said she again!

I moved my queen to vanquish her knight and defend once again my king.

"...Just another victim." She glanced at me for a second before moving her bishop and killed my queen. "And the queen died defending her love... What did you think about her?"

The queen? I can't picture her right now. Esdese is... My opponent which means she's the opponent king or queen. So I guess the queen should be...?

"Whoever she was, the king would be enraged. And that means." My king did something useful, and finally defeated one of her bishops. "Dealing with her murderer."

"And because of that, the king's sister, the rook..." She used her remaining bishop to eat my rook. "Is defeated."

"..." Damn it... That only would fuel the rage of the king, making his troops even stronger.

A lucky pawn finally attacked her bishop, finally avenging most of my fallen pieces.

So I can't even maintain my family safe in a game.

"Tatsumi?"

This is just a game, nothing else. I won't let her make anymore loses. I won't defeat her, but I'll make her pay.

She didn't insist, and moved her queen for the first time.

Come on, if I move my last rook, at least I'll be able to say once...

"Check." I happily said, seeing that even if meaningless, I did something right.

She moved away the king, but I kept pressing.

I know that a check is useless if I don't end the game, but at the very least, I'll return all those checks she did to me.

I moved my bishop, not fearing any bad consequence.

"Check." I said, once again.

This isn't skill, this is just dumb luck. Perhaps I'd feel more proud if I actually knew what I was doing, but I was too busy thinking of a nice story.

She didn't respond, and moved one of her pawns.

I see... if I don't move my bishop, his life will end... But if I take the bait, she'll use her queen and defeat me.

Taking my chances, I moved back the bishop.

"Oh...?" It was the first sound she had done in quite a while. Was it of amusement, or just because it was a bad move?

Her queen advanced again. "Check. You can give up, and we can end this right now." She carefully said, as if trying to prompt an answer.

"As if I would do that." My answer seemed to satisfy her to some extent, as my pawn rushed into the defense of the king.

"You have only one rook left." She said while taking out my bishop. "Fighting now would be useless." You of all people saying that?

"And why would be useless? If I stop fighting, everyone will succumb shortly after. Besides I'll fight to my last breath."

I watched sadly how another pawn was defeated. "Check."

I'll just move my rook here and...!

"If you manage to take out my Queen, I'll give you a reward." I'm kind of freaked out on how she emphasized the word reward, but I'll be the gentle soul and try to be innocent.

"And if I can't...?"

"You're saying that like you can't do it. I thought you'd fight to the last breath?" I said I wouldn't give up, not that I'd be able to do it!

She still has more than me, and I just have three pawns, the rook and the stupid king.

There is absolutely no way I'll be able to do that, but...!

"Alright... There's no reason in fighting a lost battle. I'll retreat for now..." Aw...

Well, it was my first time. At the very least, I left her bishopless... But now the bad part is...

"So... what punishment?" Please nothing that will take my body to another realm. Of pain. Or any kind of sensation.

"I wanted to know more about you, but if you want a punishment..."

"Village! I come from a village in the north." I quickly stopped her from getting up. This sadist isn't going to get me today!

"It wasn't exactly what I had in mind, but it works too." She played with her Queen for a moment before putting it back in the box. I should probably help too.

"Oh... Then what did you want to ask?" I couldn't decipher the look she gave me, but it was so brief I didn't even bother.

"Have you ever loved someone?" She said without taking her eyes off me.

I could really pull the I love my parents card, but I know what she means. I might be very dense sometimes, but I'm not straight out stupid. I don't know if whatever I felt around those people was love, but I definitely wouldn't be here if I didn't love them. But that love is different from what she's asking.

"...Maybe I have. I can't answer a question I don't really comprehend... Aren't you in love with me? You can describe it, and I'll tell you." I didn't say it on purpose, but seeing her blush was something amusing.

"That's not something I can describe... It isn't really a feeling, more like an instinct. It overwhelms you and... I don't know how I know, but I've learnt to love you." She said with a much lighter voice than before.

So, traducing that it would be like... the moment when the what will I do today?, changes to a - What will we do together next?

Or something like that? I don't really know. Shy Esdese isn't really the best thing for my senses.

"Then I guess... Maybe I have felt like that before. Or not... Either way, pretty much everyone I care for are dead. I don't think you should care about that." I stated bluntly.

"I care about you." I felt my heart skip a beat. "Somebody like you shouldn't be saying those things like it's nothing." She should be the last person to say those things...

She shouldn't be saying those things... It's making me feel strange...

"It's true though. If I get attached to someone, they die." I looked at the rook and bishop for a moment, before putting them in the box.

"I won't die, Tatsumi. We'll live and die together."

I felt both scared and relieved at the same time.

* * *

I hear sneaky footsteps around the room, then silence, as if the intruder had sensed my sudden awaken.

I'm still asleep, but my body can't catch up.

Please, just leave. Why is my body still asleep? What am I going to do if it attacks me?

"Whaaaaaaa!" I jumped out of the bed and threw the blanket to Esdese who was walking around for something.

"Hey! What's wrong, Tatsumi? Had a bad dream?"

The bright morning sun is shining from the cracked open drapes. What a morning...

She clumsily put back the blanket on the bed, before staring at me with a smile.

"You look full of energy today." I looked at my pants for some reason...

"Yes... I didn't dream of anything. What were you doing?" I almost tried to kill her. Wouldn't work, but hey, I don't want it to happen again.

"I thought you'd like a good morning kiss." Mornings aren't good for kisses. Well, any time of day really. "I also brought you new clothes." She pointed at one of the drawers, without turning around. I thought you had servants or something...

Even underwear...?

"Thanks... I'll change then..." Pushing aside those thoughts, I ignored her blue eyes and approached the drawer.

Why do I need so many shirts... One or two should be enough...

"Do you want a new uniform, Tatsumi? After all, my bodyguard has to be nicely dressed." I could see that she was on a good mood, despite being so early.

Why does everyone hate my coats and jackets?!

"That would be nice, but I don't really want to bother you." I mean, I don't need those nice add-ons that are useless. But I mean, it will only be used for ceremonies and things, right? I can't really think myself like that...

"Don't be so humble now. Not many people know that I have a bodyguard. Shouldn't you be presented with pride and glory?" Don't use glory on me...

"Well... I guess you're right. But I would have liked to not be presented... unless necessary." If I suddenly become a bodyguard of the most fearsome general of the Empire, people wouldn't join me...

"In any case, I can't let you run around with a plain white coat. Besides, I want to give you a present." Eh...? That's nice...

I was still a bit against... changing clothes in the same room. At the very least, she was kind enough to at least turn around...

"It's because the blood is more noticeable in white?" Apart from that incident... I have been able to keep them pretty clean.

"No. It's not your enemies blood you should be worried about. If they see you're bleeding, the enemy will rush at you." But you wear white too... Oh right. I'm not over powered.

"Well, the hemorrhage would kill me anyways. How much time does it take to bleed until it kills me?" It was more curiosity than anything, but it seemed she knew the exact answer.

"Depends of the placement and the gravity. A scratch in your arm won't kill you, but in the carotid... it surely will." She tortures people, so I guess she should know.

"I see... And how much blood can you lose? A... friend of mine lost both arms and didn't lose consciousness. So it must be a lot, right?"

After finally rushing my to wear my clothes, I put a white jacket instead of my usual coat. I felt kind of warm today...

"Both? How much blood did he lose?" She looked pretty surprised for something, but I couldn't really decipher why.

"Well... I don't know. She seemed pretty energetic even for losing her arms. I was pretty surprised..." She was pretty much her usual self, except very happy. Too happy...

"Oh..." She came into realization, before looking at me again."She probably had her body modified."

Seryu? But... She looked very normal... her skin was warm... And she felt soft too...

"But who... That fu...!"No, Tatsumi! Control your anger...

Stylish again?! He tested even more things on Seryu?! She... She probably didn't even know! She wouldn't do those things to herself! And still he...

"That fucking doctor!" I suddenly yelled, as I tried to break through the door with a tackle

"Tatsumi, calm down!" I was almost choked as she grabbed my collar, preventing my whole rage destruction.

She's fast... Ungodly...

"Let me go! I'm fine! Totally!" I took some steps back as she released her grip on me.

Wait a second...

Then... the reason she didn't lost that much blood that time was because...

No. _No._

It can't be.

_How could she have died from a blood loss?!_

If her body was modified so that wouldn't happen...!

Then she isn't...?!

Did Egu lie to me?! No, he wouldn't do that. But then, what did Stylish told him?! I have to... know! I didn't... and I don't want to know how she passed her last moments, but if I can save her...!

I wasn't able to save Ieyasu. I wasn't able to save Sayo. I wasn't able to defend anyone.

But...

If I can save her...!

Seryu...!

"Where's my sword...?" I started to look below the bed for my teigu, where it should be. It's the best place to hide it, because it's right in a too obvious place.

"Somewhere safe." She grabbed it?! "You're too naive sometimes. Do you really think I'll let you go in that state?" I felt her cold glare looking down on me, surely one that meant business.

"There must be a reason, right? You _know _Stylish. He's part of the Jaegers, the reason I haven't met them all, huh?" I turned around and faced her. "I don't know if you did it for me, or for him. But if you really wanted to hide him, you'd make it less obvious. So, what is it? Come on, don't hesitate. This might be a check, but the outcome is already decided."

The question is... what is stronger? Her love for me, or her loyalty to the Empire?

"...There's a beast below that sheep's clothing. Revenge is useless without a clear objective, so I didn't feel like it was necessary to tell you." No, there's something else. I see something else behind her glare.

"This isn't about revenge. It's about retribution." I stepped aside and opened the door.

"Where do you think you're going? I don't recall giving you permission to leave." I stopped as soon as she said those words, and looked back at her fearing some limb mutilation.

"Let me leave? Please?" Her eyes told me that it wasn't going to be so easy.

"You do know what's your status here, right? I think I've stated it several times." She's saying pretty much that I'm just a dog. I have to follow orders, or be punished. No love is going to save me there...

"...I do." I released my grip on the door. I could feel my frustration growing exponentially. I hate these moments...

"What's the point of having a bodyguard if he isn't around?" She was urging me to answer, or was it a rhetorical question?

"You need an overall change of attitude... How could I do it?" She analyzed me from head to toe before saying anything else. What is she thinking?

No torture, please.

"What do you like?" Well, that wasn't what I was thinking. Is she really thinking I'm going to be honest? But there's no need to lie, I guess. Wait a second...

"Oi, bribes don't work on me!" She giggled at my response.

"Really? It's not that surprising. Then, you want to leave early, right? What could do a loyal bodyguard do for his master?" Eh...?

"Polish... her boots?" I didn't know what to answer. I guess that's what a bodyguard would do? "Ah, take a bullet for her!"

"Fair enough. Impress me, and I'll let you go for an hour."

Damn it! That means Stylish isn't here? She wouldn't let me go so easily if he was here. However, does she know about my sources? She can't know that I know that she doesn't know what I know. I just know that I know, you know?

...What's happening in my head.

"I can... say pretty things." I don't really have any skills apart from fighting. Wow, I'm really useless in socializing. Or anything in particular.

"You wouldn't put your heart in it. Doesn't count." Oh, now that's nitpicking.

Alright then. I'll have to wait... No, I must leave now. In the afternoons I can't do anything, because my, em, _superiors _are all sitting in their homes like statues. So no missions for me ...If I have to humiliate myself, better to do it alone with her. I have to follow the great teachings of Ieyasu and my masculine side. If I have...

There's a brief gap between being nervous and being in fear. In that small break people screw up, which leaves them to do stupid things. In this moment... I have to forget my personality... Do everything I wouldn't do.

Aside from running away, I'll use everything I have.

If she's the dominatrix, I guess I should be the one being dominated. Thinking that scares me, and that isn't good. I just have to please her in some way... Without going too far.

I slapped myself softly, before chanting to myself.

Come on Tatsumi!

Come on Tatsumi!

I can do it!

"... What do you desire, Esdese-sama." My extremely calm voice scared me, but I kneeled down next to her.

"Oh? You really are doing this?" Was that sarcasm...?

I didn't know her exact emotion, as I wasn't really looking at her. Fearing a bad reaction, I slowly looked up to see what she was doing.

She sat down in the bed right behind her, more relaxed than before. Come on, I'm doing good for now... I think.

What do people do now...? Getting nervous...Not good! I can't lose my cool now!

"Ah..." What are the exact words? "...Shall I massage your legs?" Feet! I meant feet!

"Mm. I allow you to touch me." There was a hint of superiority behind her voice.

My mouth seemed to be running out of words, but nevertheless I approached her. I tried my best to remove her boot as carefully as possible. It's my first time, you know?!

At least she's pretty clean...

Come on... This is for Seryu and everyone. I won't go that far anyways. But what is far enough for her?

"Then..."

I gently rubbed Esdese's legs. I started by massaging her feet, then her heels and then her calf before stopping myself. Judging by her looks, she seems to be enjoying it.

But...

Damn it, I can't massage her thighs! That's uncharted territory! I'm almost in verge of losing my composure. In some way. I can only go so far!

Screw it, I'm already here anyways.

Before I was able to continue, something that I hadn't expected happened.

"That's enough."

Gah! I was as gentle as I could!

"Even if I would have liked more... You did pretty good, for a soldier." She pushed me away with her foot, making me lose my balance.

Well, just realized what I was doing. I'm deep down in the pool of shame...

"So, what is your request?" I tried to get up, but she quickly stopped me with her leg.

I don't like where this is going! Stop!

"W-W-Well, y-you already know! Let me leave for some minutes...!" Stupid dominatrix, I don't want to be controlled!

"If you say so. Do you promise me you will return?" She released me, as she returned to her normal self.

"I don't know why would I leave." She smiled at herself as I said those words.

My heart isn't returning to normal now... Stop doing that doki doki thing!

* * *

A few minutes later, I was already running down the streets. I barely felt the slope that surrounded the palace, and it was obvious that I was standing out. It's normal, as you don't want to mess around this part of the capital.

I have to find some excuse to leave the city, but with the time limit I have with Esdese... it's impossible. She won't allow it without a good excuse, and even then I'll have to find some kind of alibi.

My head hurts with the theory already.

I could find an excuse to visit my village, but even in the small chance she lets me, she will want to come...

The HQ will mess around with some mission, and gratefully our General isn't Esdese. So that means a free passage out of town. But then, how the hell will I be able to go north, towards Stylish's secret lab thingy...?

...I'll just say some orders, and I'll leave them on their own. This is more important.

No, I should find some scapegoat... Tell them... my stomach hurts and I'll just...

Something made me stop.

I had already reached my district where things usually are pretty calm. So, obviously when I saw conglomeration in the middle of the streets, I felt pretty shocked.

The soldiers weren't really doing anything, so at first I thought it couldn't be something important. Soldiers protect the citizens, you know? It's not like I've repeated those words a hundred times.

But the way people were yelling in anger made me feel uneasy.

"Are they lynching somebody...?"

That's wrong. Even if that person has done harm... shouldn't he be judged and punished?

But right now, the Empire's justice system is too corrupted for that. He'd probably be released in no time, without charges. Hell, I bet they'd give him money in compensation!

This is for the best...

I forcefully made my way through the crowd, and continued my way towards the barracks. I'll fix those problems someday, but until then I have to do what I do best.

I opened the entrance door, not stopping for anything.

The strangely high number of people here bothered me. There's probably something important going on, but first things first.

"Lieutenant Egu! Come here in this instant!" My voice silenced all the others in the barracks, leaving a quiet and nervous atmosphere in the lobby.

I noticed the uneasiness in the hall, but this was important.

A lone troubled figure appeared in front of me. "Y-Yes, sir?"

"Could we... speak in private?" My throat felt much smaller than it actually was, making my voice feel much heavier than usual.

"Yes, Captain." A couple of worried eyes watched back and forth before we left the lobby.

This should be far enough.

"Answer me. Recall what happened right after Night Raid attacked." Even the slightest hint will be enough for me.

"Eh? Well... We focused into trying to save those who were in critical condition. Didn't really work out... We probably just extended their pain. So... Em... I decided to return to the capital along wit-"

"Skip all that. When did Stylish exactly appeared? Moreover, how was Seryu...?" He seemed to be caught off guard when I suddenly said that.

"Ah, em... Well, you see... She... didn't seem to have much energy left... Like lethargy. I checked her pulse several times, but she was still alive. She didn't say anything. So I guessed she wouldn't last very long..." I could feel my gloomy self trying to get the best of me.

"She... didn't say anything? Not even... a last wish?" He avoided meeting my eyes for a second, as if remembering something he didn't want to think about.

"No. We didn't talk at all." He said in a rather serious tone. Why couldn't a feel at peace with that answer? "She just... cried."

Those last words struck me way harder than they should. It felt like somebody made a hole in my chest, and then proceeded to rip my heart and eat it. I cannot imagine Seryu crying...

"Don't...say anymore. When did Stylish appear?" I guess in the capital, as I found him there... but then...

"Well, he came to us. Like he knew what had happened. I was pretty reluctant about that guy, but as I saw him before with her, I just rolled with it. After that, he locked himself into a room with her and some minutes later he told me that it was... unachievable."

"...And then while I was batting with that guy, somebody came in and snatched her body?" It was more like a statement than a question.

"...Pretty much."

Damn it. After all, I don't know if she's still alive... But I have to punish those who ended her life. Stylish indirectly, and threads guy directly... Both of them.

I can fight Night Raid without suspicion, but Stylish... I have to get him out of the city and quickly. If I want any clues on where he is, I'll have to visit one of his labs. But how?

"...Thanks. But... did she really... not say anything about me...?" Maybe she couldn't talk... It's not that important. It felt wrong, that's it.

"Well, I mean, it's not like she didn't talk. I mean what is talking? It's just saying some words, and then the other one has to understand it. So technically..." The hell is he hiding?

"You know, if you don't tell me the truth in one day. Trust me, I will really do something bad. But we have more important things right now! _We! _Are leaving for a trip!" I exclaimed with mixed feelings.

"But we can't leave without orders..." He answered, looking at the ground.

"The Empire scares people with power. I'm sure some Major or Colonel wants us to make a field trip or something." Oh wow, what came over me...?

"Ah... so what are we doing?" Scapegoat plan it is.

"I'm going to another place while you and the company ran around." Genius master plan! Now that would be my alibi, if something happens. But how could I make them leave the city?

"But you are the captain...! What are we going to do?" Right... they trust me...

"I wouldn't be doing this if this wasn't for the best." More or less... "I assure you nothing bad will happen."

"And if somebody asks for you...?" Ah damn it. Just say 'Aye aye'!

"Tell them I have... whooping cough or something."

"A-Alright... but we need a superior's approval, right?" That's the tricky part...

"...Let me handle that."

Somehow...

In someway...

At this point, you know I've got two choices, I either actually go through with it, or I say; you know what I'm too scared right now, I don't wanna do it. If I go through with it I'll die, as I must at some point. If I don't go through with it, my choice is essentially to suffer, and then die. I guess you know what's the easier answer.

So that's why I'll kill those two. If there's any way to redeem her, I'll do it. It might be hopeless. It might...

I can't change the direction of the wind. But I can take advantage of it.

* * *

**Sorry for the delay. I had Wittgenstein up my ass for a whole week. I mean, who even is that, amirite lads?**

**I'm really writting this in a hurry so... what should I say... Oh yes. Next chapter... HOHOHOHO! Next chapter Tatsumi's fate is going to be sealed forevah!**

**What else... Oh yeah, I wrote that chess scene like... long ago. It wasn't even Tatsumi or Esdese playing, so I had to adapt it. Maybe there's some symbolism there.**

**So yeah, kind of a strange name for an arc. And if somebody really figures out why it's called like that... I'll give you a nice cookie. But you really have to discard the obvious, or you will fail! Just think of all my foreshadowing that you probably missed, or you didn't understand because I'm an awful writter. Probably the latter.**

**I should be studying, so I'll keep it sort. Yes to all those questions. Even if some of them are no... So yes to some, and not to others.**

**...**

**Next chapter...it's kind of a spoiler to say, but it has already a title. It will be called "Temporary Alliance"**

**THAAAAANK YOU so much for reviewing, favoriting or for following!**

**I'll try to bring this next chapter as soon as possible! I'm finishing my exams this week, so expect lots of... things from now on.**


	13. Temporary Alliance

**Enslaved Soldier Arc**

_**Temporary Alliance**_

* * *

You know that day when you feel everything's going your way? Today is one of those days. Even if it had a little rocky beginning, after being able to meet with Egu and actually take part in a military operation to... "pacify" the eastern region, everything started going smoothly. Sure, maybe I was a bit rude... but the results are what matters. If everything's right... tomorrow will be a great day.

But of course, in some wry turn of events... I'm waiting here with Wave for some reason... Just leaning against the wall, not saying particularly anything.

What was that again? Don't be apathetic with the Jaegers. I've been very friendly! Like... eh... that one time when I greeted Run. Oh! And the tea Bols made was very nice. He wasn't so bad after all.

I guess I do ignore Wave... and Kurome reminds me too much of Akame to have a normal conversation. Assuming she's normal.

I suppose... I could give it a try... I mean, he isn't that bad... it will be just a casual conversation. Besides, if he can be an ally...

"Um... Have you ever been in the middle of saying something and you realize that literally no one cares?" I started saying.

His reaction was a bit wary at first as I haven't really take the initiative with him but he answered almost immediately.

"I've literally stopped talking mid-word in a story and no one has noticed. It happens more now than I would like." He said with a small chuckle.

"Back in my village it used to happen a lot. Like... daily. Sometimes it was annoying, and other times I was grateful." Here in the capital, I only talked with Seryu or with my soldiers, and they were very attentive.

"Really? For me it's backwards. In my village it didn't really happen, but now it's a greeting ceremony. Sometimes I think they tease me..." Really?

"Run and Bols don't seem like they would do that... Don't tell me Kurome is like that...?" She looks more like the type who doesn't talk.

"Eh? More or less... depending of the day... What's with the sudden talking?" I thought you hated me."

"What? No! Why would I hate you?" I don't think I do, honestly. Or maybe...

"You know, trying to kill you and all of that. Besides, you act pretty strange..." Oh right. But that was just our ideals clashing. I don't think I hate you.

"That's forgiven... But I act strange? How? Don't tell me I do a creepy face when fighting?!" I'm so concerned about that, it's not even funny.

"N-No... You talk alone." That's not my fault.

"That is... not your problem."

"I... I think it is. I'm sure we'll end up fighting against the enemy, so I want to know if I can trust you in battle." So that was the reason?

"I'm not... I don't want to fight against Night Raid." My words caught him by surprise, as he took a step back. Clear up! Clear up! "I just want one of them. I could care less about the others."

Even after clarifying, he was still shocked.

"That's stupid." Excuse me? "Do you think they'll go alone? If you want to attack one, everyone will go against you."

...He has a point. And that angers me.

"...Whatever."

Would I have to fight against Mein and Akame? I don't want to do that... I'm not sure about Mein, but Akame has saved me twice. That's two things I have to do for her...

Assuming I'm able to fight them.

"But this is important!" He said once again.

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

...

"I have to prepare for a mission, don't bother me with these things." Yea, take that you stupid sailor!

"We have to wait for the General."

...He still has a point. Hate you.

I stuck my tongue out and leaned against the wall once again. That's what you get...

We stopped talking in that exact moment. Maybe I should have made some philosophical question and make him join me, but I barely know how to even pronounce schedule. Why don't I know Latin, and say things like... sic semper tyrannis. It sounds cool.

I turned my head as I heard some steps down the hallway. Here we go again...

"So that was what you were planning, Tatsumi." Esdese said as she approached us in a swift pace. Once again, my lack of knowledge about her left me unable to identify her emotions.

"...The troubles of moonlighting?" I was relieved as she stopped before getting in range of a good slap. "Uh... Wave supports me?"

He stiffened as her glare focused on him.

"I haven't said anything!" He said while raising his arms in defense. "But I guess... He's still a captain, so he should fulfill his duties... or something along those lines." I didn't expect him to actually defend me.

"And that's the Rook's opinion." That chess game really affected her today... "I didn't say that you could take part in military operations. I said that you could maintain the position." She said in a scolding manner.

"Tsk... Even then, I can't gather experience inside these walls. I think this benefits both of us..."

"And I know that's not the reason." ...She got me there. "I'd be a terrible commander if I just let you kill him."

"Wait, what's happening?" Wave asked with a puzzled expression. Sorry buddy.

"Well, you are wrong. I'm not going to do that." I'm just going to grasp that small possibility of her being alive, and if he somehow is the way, it won't be my fault.

Her glare was overwhelming, as if trying to really make me say no.

"You hold your own future. I'll trust you this time." Eh...? Too easy.

She must... know something.

She knows...? Is she playing with me? Trying to psyche me up or something? No, she must know where I'm heading and then...

What does she know...?

If I do something, then... Shit!

"Come on, Tatsumi. You should go to bed right now. You can't be tired in your first mission." She grabbed my hand and started to drag me away, as if nothing had happened.

Why is she acting like this...?

"H-Hey! I can walk!"

What does she know...

* * *

Waking up before the sun rises isn't a good idea. It's even worse when you can't sleep because you're sure that the person spooning you knows what you're going to do. And that doesn't let my body rest in any way. Or my brain.

I thought I'd be the one to wak... get up from the bed, and somehow slip away from her grasp. But of course, she wouldn't let me do that. Why does she treat me like a teddy bear...?

She unknowingly let me go, still dreaming with god knows what. You wouldn't say she likes to torture people.

I quickly dressed up and looked for that teigu for some reason. It was hopeless, but I didn't want to miss the chance. I guess I'll use my normal sword. It's filled with dreams, you know...?

"See you tomorrow..." I said those words for some reason, and left the room.

I didn't know if I should avoid the guards in the palace, but screw it. I'll go stealthy!

It was... strangely easy to leave the place. There was literally nobody inside. I just got some trouble in the gate, and I'm thankful they were the same guys from the day shift. The amount of trash talk they did was amazing. I'm even impressed!

From here there wasn't nothing worth mentioning. I met Major... uh... Esku? Or something stupid like that. Grabbed some supplies, my weapons, said some encouraging words to my soldiers and booked it. Literally.

I just grabbed a horse and went riding north like a jackass.

It was fairly smooth ride. This mare seemed very reliable. I didn't want to exhaust her, but I wanted to get there as soon as possible. I left the capital around... 6 a.m. and I'd need around ten hours to get there by horse. And that is without taking account of the stops I'll need to do... another two hours.

So with luck, I'll reach the mountains around 6 p.m. and I'll need another hour to find the complex... I guess I'll have to sleep in my village. Even if I don't want to.

Even if Stylish isn't there... I'll search for something else. His visits there have grown exponentially, so there must be a reason. Unless that info was mistaken.

I'll try to enjoy this ride, for the time being.

Even if the sun isn't warming me, I felt rather energetic. It's like...

I feel like a hero, really. An adventurer travelling around the country to save it from evil. It isn't like that, but my imagination enjoyed it. Although it was saddening to see the difference between the city and the countryside, the forests started to thicken, and it was getting significantly colder. Something that didn't happen in the capital.

Some hours after that, I rested for a moment in the last town before reaching my location. I considered the idea of buying some snowshoes, but I couldn't waste more time. I'll end up regretting this.

The poor mare was getting very exhausted with the cold and my constant nagging, so I decided to leave her at the foot of the mountain.

As soon as I dismounted, I felt some snowflakes falling in me. So it's starting to snow.

I'll put on my hood, just in case.

"Alright... Where would I hide a base if I was a mad scientist?" The peak or a cave seems like a good place to start.

This mountain wasn't that big. It was big enough to be called a mountain, but I wouldn't say it deserved that title.

I buttoned my coat, made sure I had ammo for my handgun, some grenades, and checked the condition of my sword. Alrighty, time to go.

I saw in the distance that a ring of trees covered most of the mountain, so there won't be a lot of snow there. What scares me is the lack of sunlight. The sun is going to set soon, but thankfully springtime gives me some more hours. So until eight p.m. I can be sure of having sun.

As I walked through the forest, I couldn't help but appreciate the lack of sound. I could see the tracks of some wild animal, perhaps even a bear, but there wasn't anything else. It was... disheartening.

"And what's this...?" I muttered as I saw a pile of snow below a tree. It seems that the snow fell from the tree.

Is somebod-

"Ew..." Alright, never mind. A bear just marked its territory...

Gross, gross! Keep going up.

I've never realized how tiring it is to walk up a mountain filled with snow. I must thank the tree god for letting me walk, but my luck seems to decreasing.

The trees ended abruptly just in front of me. It was just a small clearing and though the light snowfall barely let me see the top, it was close. Just a bit more.

As soon as I stepped out from the trees, I almost fell down as I didn't realize the thick amount of snow right here. Well, that was bad. I should have bought those snowshoes.

I didn't realize how that choice saved my life.

Just as I stepped in, and fell barely some centimeters, a bright light almost passed through my forehead. I felt the hot beam burn some of my hair, and even melting some of the snow in front of me.

How did that person aim so precisely through the snowfall?!

I immediately sought cover, trying to hid myself from the sniper.

It was useless. The tree I had tried to reach was reduced to logs and splinters, falling almost in my legs.

I was totally open, and the snow didn't let me move swiftly. So when I saw another beam trying to pierce my head, I did the only thing I could.

I unsheathed my sword and tried to cut it in two, to at least save myself. Reminder, I don't know how energy works.

Well, it didn't split in two. It kind of exploded. Like... wow.

It didn't really hurt, but I was worried about the load of gunpowder I have in my belt. Luckily it only left me deaf for some seconds.

I saw how my hood had been completely torn of my head, as well as some parts of my coat. Poor thing. He always gets the worse part.

I expected another ray of light to finish me off, but it didn't come. Is the sniper on bad position? No, that can't be. The angle is the same.

Wait... The deafness is starting to fade.

I think somebody is saying... Idiot?

What?

I reluctantly got up from the ground, and without thinking twice I took a detour. I don't know what that was, but I don't want to know. In this position I'm useless, so I'll take another route.

This probably means that Stylish has guards. That sniper can't be a coincidence. I'll need to have my guard up all this time. No more bear piss to check.

Tsk... it seems that my sword has taken a good hit... It's severely damaged. The heat has his toll, and it seems that it's no longer sharp in this side. No matter, I still have one edge.

"There..." This time there's no denying it. Somebody is here.

What do I do? Wait and see what he does first? No, I'll fall a step behind. I need to take the initiative. I'll strike first and take him by surprise.

No, no. What if there's someone else? They'll try to surround me. Take me by the flank. I have to avoid the conflict.

I felt a rush of air on my back. It was an ominous sign of what was heading my way. My instinct acted in my favour.

Completely turning around, I raised my sword in self-defense. I firmly parried the jump attack of my assailant, who was wielding a katana. I had seen it before. I had even seen it in action.

This was... Murasame?!

The briefness of our encounter didn't let me see almost anything, except the long dark coat she was wearing, and of course, her red eyes.

I was honestly surprised for a moment. I didn't expect this moment to come over so quickly. Do they know that I am...! No! It can't be!

"Akam-" I tried to bring sense into her, but my voice was cut as I blocked another swing.

Her red eyes didn't lie. She was trying to kill me.

She can kill me with only a scratch. As strong as she is, she's still human. I just need one attack! But I can't face her!

I have to run away.

I rapidly removed the pin of one of the smoke grenades I have, and ran away as I narrowly avoided another attack.

"Why does this keep happening to me?!" You're my saviour! Don't ruin it by killing me! Damn it Akame!

The peak is right there... But I can't start looking for an entrance with an assassin on my ass!

I hid against a tree, wondering if the smoke grenade had really worked. Perhaps she thought I'd attack her while she couldn't see me?

No, why are they attacking me? There were a lot of chances in my trip. Why right now? I'm so close... and now I can't give up!

A faint smell of burnt meat started to fill my nose. It was strange, but I couldn't stop for small details.

I closed my eyes while taking a deep breath and prepared for another sprint. We are uphill, so it's going to be very tiring.

"Don't move." I froze as I saw the gun-type teigu being pointed at me.

This is giving me the strangest sense of déjà vu...

"Mein, listen..." The pig-tailed girl was as serious as ever.

Aside from the odd gun, she was wearing the same pink outfit I had seen way before. At the very least she was covering her legs more... can't imagine if she ever feels cold. Oh yeah, dying.

Just what the hell is going on here...

"Don't use my name." She aimed a bit higher the teigu, directly at my heart. "Come on, drop your weapons." At the very least, she isn't trying to kill me like Akame.

I obeyed her and dropped my sword, burying itself in the snow.

Tatsumi, put two and two together. Stylish is part of the Jaegers. She is part of Night Raid. I just need to convince her that I'm on her side!

"Mein, I can help...!" She pressed the teigu against my chest, leaving me breathless.

"What did I say?" Why is she so mad with me?! I can't recall anything! I did nothing wrong!

"Akame! I'm here." She yelled at the assassin, right behind me. Ah crap...

"I... Mein..." I tried to talk again, but she averted her eyes right when I talked. Her reaction left me a bit hectic...

I better drop my handgun and grenades too. But... she doesn't let me talk. How am I going to do that?

As I was wondering that, I noticed the katana-wielding user appearing with her usual monotonous face. Even then, I knew that this encounter was very different from the others.

I can't give up so easily...

"What do we do with him?" Pinky started talking. She didn't try to kill me unlike Akame... I don't like my chances here. Considering that, I guess Mein is a lower rank than Akame? Or is she asking for her opinion?

"..."

Her gaze struck me and locked on me, as if really thinking of my outcome. Why are you thinking about that now? You tried to kill me!

I'll need to use my trump card then!

"IwanttokillStylish!" I said really quickly, fearing of a really bad outcome. I mean, she doesn't let me talk.

"What?" Mein said with an incredulous look.

"I risked a lot to come here... I want to kill Stylish at the very least." I looked at the shape of the snow, watching how it was being slowly covered by another layer of snowflakes.

"You can't. We're already here." Pinky mentioned proudly.

"You're too dangerous." The words of Akame were cold, almost like stating a fact.

I wasn't surprised as I saw her raise the cursed teigu, ready to take my life without resentment.

It was... strange. The only thing I could think was: Well, too bad.

Too bad indeed...

"W-Wait. He can still help." Mein...? "We... We can use him as bait." Never mind.

I was taken aback by her sudden help. I'm grateful, really, but I have already too many debts. I didn't say anything, but I guess Akame doesn't actually appreciate me. That's pretty mean...

"No." Oh shit.

I'm not dying today!

She was ready to slice me again.

My coat was in the way of reaching for any of my other weapons, and my sword was in the ground. So I just did the only thing that made sense.

Taking advantage of Mein's lapse in concentration, I used her teigu to block the one hit blade. Obviously she took offense to that, but my life is still intact.

"I'm not doing anything wrong...! I don't understand your reactions!" I took some steps back in correlation with my words. I seriously don't understand. "Y-Your faces are already known! I'm not a threat!"

I haven't done any direct damage or importunes to them. The only one I know was...

Oh no... Do they know that Seryu...? Maybe... They think I'm after revenge? That can't be it, right? Seryu was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. And she wouldn't ever say something about me in a battle...

Then what is it? Ideals?

Akame scanned me once again, before turning around without making a sound. What was that...?

Mein looked at me annoyed, before talking again.

"Capt'n!" She said mockingly. "Stop being pitiful and follow her." Mein signaled me with her gun-teigu, as if I was a prisoner of war.

I sighed relieved as I heard those words. Someone inside of me wanted to laugh, but I felt like it was a really bad a idea.

"Thank you..." I felt like those words came out of my heart. "Can I grab my sword...?"

"Shut it and start walking." Gee, why is every woman here dominant...

I started walking, and she followed me shortly after. She's making sure that I don't escape, and Akame is right in front of me. Not exactly the position I'd want to be, but I'm okay with this.

"...Have I insulted you in some way?" It was bothering me that I upset her without meaning it. I guess it's just a bad impression, or just ideals. But I think I'm a decent man most of the times.

"You... I'm not talking." Even without looking back I knew she was just turning her other cheek.

"That's not fair. I don't think I deserve it..." I complained dejected.

"I don't need the Knight of the Woeful Countenance. You should have joined the Revolution.." Oh... Oh, I see where this is going.

"It's not my fault. Nobody told me about them... But I'm more useful like this." I admitted.

We were reaching the top of the mountain, but the nauseating stench of rotten meat entered through my nostrils and mouth making me taste smell.

"What is that stink? It's worse than a skunk with an unsettled stomach." I covered part of my face with the collar of my coat. I want to puke...

"I don't really want to know..." Mein mentioned behind me.

The girl in front of me suddenly stopped, as if she had run into a invisible wall. She tilted her head several times before pointing at a small ledge around 500 meters in front of us.

"Go there." She didn't address me, but I guess she's talking to me.

"Alright... What do I do?" It didn't look like there was anything there. Some trees, snow and rocks.

"Go there." She said once again.

"Fine." No point in fighting back, they are going to kill me if I say anything else.

"Wait a second." Pinky said before passing me, and kneeled down to get a general view of the field.

So she also does the scouting... I thought you needed two people to be a good sniper, I guess I was wrong. I'm not really into marksmanship really...

"I'll try to make myself a tasty bait..." I whispered to no one.

"She's already there, Akame." Mein explained. Who's there? Some other Night Raid member?

"Oi Spooky Captain! If you try to run you'll become a roasted soldier. So, not really different from what you're now." She got up already mocking me again.

As I was about to move, a creaking sound drilled itself into me. It wasn't loud or even cringe experience. I just felt it... and stopped.

A... grille?! Why the hell is there a grille here?! Right here in the op-

My vision got blurry.

I felt my stomach colliding against my diaphragm.

I couldn't feel the ground below me.

I was falling.

I saw Mein rushing over to me, extending her hand. I knew that she wouldn't be able to bear with my weight. Even then... I acted foolishly. My fear overcame my senses and without acknowledging it, I grabbed her hand.

And of course, it happened. I dragged her along with me.

She was just as surprised as I was. I couldn't really deny that. But the fact that she was falling head first just made me fear more for her than me.

I tried to stop my fall using my feet against the walls of the vent. I slowed myself a bit, but the snow made it slippery. And I didn't account Mein falling right in top of me.

Thankfully, she had a petite body so she could pass between me and the wall. But that would mean that she'd fall. So I just hugged her legs as she passed in front of me and prevented her fall along with mine.

She wasn't that tall, so her head should be around my feet.

She was yelling some gibberish, so I didn't really listened to her until I finally stopped both of us. I didn't realize, but I was hyperventilating the whole time.

"DUMBASS! WHY DID YOU GRAB MY HAND?!" She started punching my legs with her free hand. Those are holding both of us up!

And is she still holding that teigu?! I didn't even saw it as she fell!

"You were the one who extended it!" I argued back.

I didn't realize I hadn't grabbed her dress along with her legs. So with her being upside down, I'm kind of seeing what I shouldn't be seeing. Even she had leggings below it, I was seeing too much for my own good. So _that_ is pink too.

No stop it me!

"D-DON'T LOOK! Pervert!" She tried to cover herself, but the gravity didn't really let her.

It's her fault!

"Who wears dresses in the freaking snow?!"

"S-Shut up! It wasn't that cold before!" Alright, let's calm down.

"Fine, fine. You can't be upside down too much. What do you see down there?" I tried to switch themes. My legs can be like this for some time, but she might suffer a lot upside down. She could even die.

"...I see goo. And it smells like shit." Quote me on that one too.

"Do you think it's deep?" It might be our only escape route.

"I'm not going down there! Find another way!" Well, sorry about this.

Ah crap, she's slowly falling from my grasp...

"Help me then, because your leggings are slipping." And it must be cold as hell. "My hands are a bit cold, so don't freak out when I touch you."

I'll have a better grip if I'm not holding her clothes. And that's a bit bad for myself too.

"W-What do you m- AHH! LET ME GOOOO!" She started kicking me at the touch of my frozen hands.

With all that fuss, and even with my strong grip my hands slipped from her clothes and the inevitable happened. I looked in shock as I had her leggings and shoes too.

"Mein!"

I let go from my safe position and started falling towards the pool of stinky goo. Please, let her be safe... I don't know if that's liquid, or a nasty gel.

Fearing the worst, I slowed myself a bit and covered my nose and mouth.

The goo was mostly liquid. There wasn't a lot of difference from water, but it felt like it had something else. Like blood. And not to mention the putrid smell.

I didn't touch the bottom when I fell, so it must be pretty deep. In any case, it shouldn't be a problem to swim. But where...

Where was she?! She should be here too!

Fearing the worst, I took a deep breath and dived into the disgusting liquid.

I didn't dare to open my eyes, as I was lucky to touch a hand. I pulled with all my might and reappeared in the surface.

Even though she hadn't opened her eyes, she was still conscious. But it was obvious that almost drowning wasn't a good experience. She wobbled her arms for some moments and started sinking again.

She can't swim?!

I pulled her closer to me, trying to support her weight too.

"Don't let me go!" She said in a distressed voice.

"Why are you so heavy!" I said as I tried to swim backstroke towards a small curb. There wasn't any kind of disturbance in the liquid, so it should be a quick trip but...

"You don't know how to swim?!" I yelled.

"OF COURSE I DO!" She tried to hit me, but she sank again in the goo.

I was sinking too fast to reach it. Why was she so heavy? Even if we add up the clothes...

"Drop the teigu!" I don't know how much weigh it had, but I couldn't find any other explicable reason.

She twisted around like I had insulted her mother. You're going to drown if you dart around like a dog!

"I can't... breathe!" That plead for help touched me right where it shouldn't.

My own nature is going to kill me.

I lifted her up just a tad, but in exchange I had to submerge my whole body, and believe me, I'm running out of oxygen.

One, two, three, four, five...

I emerged again between shallow breaths, and tried to convince her again.

"We're both going to drown! I'll get it back as soon as we're safe!" I had some stupid plan in my head already, but the thing was to convince her. She didn't trust me when she had a broken arm... But I'll have faith for once!

"No!" Damn it!

"Believe me! We have to get out of here befor-"

"Shut up! I'm no-"

We both stopped talking because we had hear the same thing. Something, or someone had entered the water with a big splash. And it couldn't had been Akame, as she'd fall much closer to us.

"I trust you." She calmly stated as it was obvious that we both were scared.

She let go of the teigu, and the adrenaline started kicking again.

I grabbed her arm and tried to give her a bigger advantage over whatever was in the water. And like the big idiot that I am, I used my foot to grab the teigu by the strap.

Big mistake.

It pulled me, and I once again was sinking way too fast. It was impossible to get up without letting it go, but if I managed to shoot the damn thing, I might get a propulsion or something. Have I mentioned that I don't know how the hell does this work?

I can't see a damn thing, but I think I have it. Where's the trigger...?

My lungs are burning... I can't hold on much more!

A weird sound tried to warn me of the strange creature heading over to me, but I couldn't react as it tackled me. The creature didn't stop there, as it started to go faster like a seal and crushed me against the wall. I can't fight in the water, against an enemy I can't see or hear!

I tried my best to point the teigu against it, but he uppercut me like it was a joke. At least I can confirm it as arms.

I hadn't noticed that somebody had grabbed my hand, and pulled me up slowly but steady.

"Tatsumi!" I started gagging just as soon as my head touched the air once again.

So I was launched right here. At the very least, Mein can shoot down the stupid thing.

I was able to bring up the teigu, not before starting kicking the damn demon-seal. With a final foot to the face, I climbed towards safety and away from the goo.

"What... Kill... Oh god..." I couldn't even speak as my heart pumped blood like a steam engine. I was barely able to lay down without pain.

"Are you okay?" Mein was taking care of her gun while she said those words, leaving me a bit disappointed. Was she even asking me?

Wait a second...

"This thing isn't sticking to our clothes." She said as she touched the strange goo.

And she was right. Most of her clothes looked like they were new, except... well, that her legs were pretty naked. That's her fault though.

"Great... Can you shoot... the stupid tap-dancing demon that almost killed me?!" I got up and said those words.

Yep, the goo doesn't stick to our clothes or hair. That's strange.

The small ledge we were standing in was pretty small. I could almost stretch myself, but nothing else. The width was even smaller, as we're too close to have a personal space.

"I tried. It's plugged." She said while dissembling her teigu. "Some goo must still be inside."

Fantastic.

I got rid of my coat, headed over towards some pipes against the wall. I checked if they were reliable, and punched one of them.

"Ouch." I really hoped that it would fall. At least it's sturdy.

"Idiot." Wha... Start fixing that thing and don't look at me!

This time I started pulling until I heard a different sound. It almost caught me by surprise, but I was able to rip it without breaking it. I noticed some fluid falling through the pipe, before stopping completely.

This should be enough to defend myself. It's not very long and the balance sucks, but I can break some heads with this.

"You can back down for a bit." I told the pink haired as I swung the tube to test it.

"Gee, you really think that thing will jump from the water?" She said in disbelief.

"Of course not." I replied. "But at least it will attack me first."

I looked at the reddish fluid. It seemed... familiar. Like I had seen in it before. But when did I see this freaky goo? Oh wow, it doesn't smell anymore! No wait, I'm just used to that stench and my nose doesn't detect it anymore.

I raised the pipe above my head, seeing how something was approaching us again.

Wait for it... Wait for it...

"Why do you always appear in the most inopportune moments?" Mein started talking behind me.

"I dunno. You are the one sticks your nose into my problems." The being turned around as soon as it heard us talk. "It's not my fault that you hate me."

"I don't hate you. You're just more annoying than a hungry mosquito." Is that supposed to be a metaphor? I don't drink blood last time I checked.

"Then... why do you act around me so aggressive?"

"W-What? You're a threat. Why would I be nice to my enemy?" Oh, so that's what is happening...

"I thought we were..." Weird phrasing! Freudian slip! Freudian slip! "Eh... I think I made clear last time I wasn't aligned to the Empire." Clear as water. Or goo.

"Oh? I thought the same until we saw you all willy nilly with Esdese."

Oh shit. Double it by twice the amount! You can explain it! Explain...!

"It's not my fault! She literally knocked me out and told me to die or join her! T-There wasn't any other option!" I turned around and ignored the threat in the liquid.

"...You didn't say the same that time." She said in cold blood, without getting distracted from cleaning the teigu.

"When?" I said confused. I don't remember any similar situation...

She almost dropped a piece of the imperial arm as I said those words. She was utterly bemused for some reason.

"Are... Are you serious?" She said while looking at my eyes. That's the first time she's done that.

"Serious of what?" Am I missing something? Maybe it's a bad joke...

"Did you really forget?! Of what happened when we first met?!" She's getting mad for some reason! Why does this keep happening to me?!

"Well, of course not! We went into a nice trip on the forest, you were stupid and tried to kill a danger beast. We ran away and found some soldiers and then... Then..."

What happened...?

"Huh... My head hurts..."

Blue eyes stared at me... And then I...

"... Sorry. I shouldn't have said anything." She apologized out of nowhere, as if remembering something. "But I'm not apologizing anymore." She really fails at getting serious.

"Uh... Alright..." This was awkward. "Then, what can I do to prove my, eh, innocence?"

"You don't. Or..." A very creepy smile formed on her lips. "You can always kill Esdese!" She said before starting to laugh.

What a... She knows that's pretty much suicide! I'm not an assassin! I'm a warrior who is an idiot and attacks everything that shakes.

"Very funny. I'm already fearing death every time I sleep with her, as if I'd grab a knife and kill her." She's still useful to me, even if... I'm not really using her. Yet.

"You... You what?" Why is she blushing all of a sudden?

"W-Wait that came out wrong! I haven't touc-" Oh shit I have. "I haven't done anything! She's the creepy one!"

"I don't care about your sexual experiences!" There goes all my earned respect.

"B-But! I can tell you other things like... information about the Jaegers. How about that?" Act like nothing happened!

"Like you'll say the truth." She got up with the teigu fully assembled, all new.

At this rate is going to be easier to survive Akame rather than convince Mein. Why is she so stubborn?!

"I haven't lied to you, have I? " I murmured and faced again the pool of death.

I must say... it was a very unnerving scene. The beast that attacked us was in the middle, only with its head out. This liquid didn't attach to our bodies or clothes, but it was attaching to it. The fact that it looked human made it more stressing.

What did it want...? We have to leave somehow, before that freaky thing attacks again.

An explosion behind me almost threw myself into the pool again. When I looked back, I just saw Mein with a rather satisfied expression.

"It works." Yeah I'm seeing the wreckage you've made!

The wall was literally blown off, reveling that there was a hallway right behind it. There's our exit...

"Let's go." She pointed to the dark hallway, and started walking through the rubble. I wanted to go sneaky but fine...

"This is..."

We couldn't see farther than our feet. There wasn't any light, unlike in the liquid tank behind us. What was Stylish doing here...? He experiments in humans, but could he do something worse?

There isn't anything else, so I'll go forward. I don't want to die here anyways.

"W-Wait." Mein grabbed my sleeve like a frightened child.

"Don't tell me you're scared?"

"Shut up!" Don't try to look tough when your voice says otherwise.

I held out the metal pipe in front of me, just in case there was something I didn't want to touch. The fact that there wasn't any sound beside our footsteps, made me more aware of my heartbeat. Even every single breath sounded way louder than normal.

I stepped in something squishy, but I didn't stop to see what it was.

"Can we get a truce until we end all of this? I want to make sure that you don't shoot me on the back." I started talking to stop my discomfort.

"... If you do the same, I'll consider." It's so hard to say yes with you?

"Sure. But I call dibs on Stylish." I want to do it myself, at the very least.

"Why do you want to kill him anyways?" She started saying, trying to fill the void.

"Well... Have you lost a friend and sought revenge? That's more or less the short story." I felt kind of bad, as I knew Seryu had killed one of her partners... but I wasn't trying to hurt her.

"I guess... I understand you." She affirmed, with a meager tone of voice.

An ally outside the walls...? Could she...? Nah, she doesn't really like me.

"See? We're not that different... At least I'm not scared of the dark."

"T-That's normal and completely rational! You... You're the one killing bodyguards on broad daylight!" That was one time!

"Says the girl who wears always pink! I can see you even in the night!" Seriously!

She punched my arm lightly, but I could feel that she had held back.

"Idiot."

The pipe made a light sound as I touched a metal door. It was locked, and it seemed to not have a doorknob or anything like it. It was straight out metal piece that somebody put to screw with me.

"Can you shoot it down?" I said to the girl beside me.

"Now who needs my help?"Aw... "I'll try."

A bright light made me shut my eyes in pain. It seemed like the rage of a hundred suns just released a laser into my retinas. What the hell?!

_"One, two, three. Hello?" _A strange voice came out from above us, as if it was megaphone but... more electrical.

"Stylish!" I yelled into the air. How is he talking?!

_"Oh, if it isn't the prodigal asshole! Could you please not hurt my babies? I have enough trouble as it is." _

"Don't worry, you won't have any problem when I kill you!" I shouted again.

"Uh... Tatsumi? We have a proooblem!"

My eyes finally got used to the light, and I couldn't understand how the hell were these things here.

This part... wasn't a laboratory. This was a prison. It was at least twelve meters tall, but the small hallway we had traversed was barely big enough for three people side to side. It had two levels, all with its label cell with... experiments inside. Human carcasses with mutations... as something I had seen way before.

_"Have fun!" _

The cells suddenly opened, setting free all the danger beasts hybrids. There were... hundreds of them. And they all were trying to kill us!

The fastest of them ran on all fours, as a wolf. Those nimble things looked like humans that had bent forward to the point of using their hands as a new pair of feet. I could see that their torsos and legs appeared to have gotten shorter. The skin on their faces had pulled back, giving them all a gruesome smile.

Three of them rushed over to me. One tried to jump attack me, but I quickly smashed its head with the pipe. A second one tried to bite my leg, but I barely shot him with my hand gun. And the third one... Disappeared in a beam.

"Thanks!" I quickly said as I stabbed the eye of another zombie-like creature.

"Give me some time! I'll destroy the door!" She said as I heard another shot of her teigu.

"Gotcha!"

Even if some looked like danger beasts, most of them looked like regular humans wearing masks. Why the mutants didn't attack them? That I don't know.

"Screw this!" I took out a hand grenade, and threw it into the pile of unending enemies.

I only have ten more bullets, one frag and one smoke grenade... But it did its job.

I closed my eyes as the explosion blinded me for a second. I felt some parts of things I don't want to know hitting me, but when I opened my eyes, most of them had been blown off. Most except...

The seal like creature that attacked me before was unharmed, and it had brought its buddies with him. What previously used to be human arms, in the seals, looked more like flippers. The noses have become markedly flatter and broader, with layers of fat or flesh visible everywhere on their body.

"Mein...? Are you done?!"

Those seals were slow, but the remnants of the other guys still tried to kill us.

"Jeeze! Let me be!" She said before another shot made a dent in the door.

"Why is that thing so weak?!" I yelled while piercing the eye of another wolf-like creature. All those hits are making the tip quite sharp...

"I'll kick your ass if you keep insulting Pumpkin!" What the hell is that name?!

"Fine! Switch! I'll open a cubby hole for both of us!" I finished off another masked being and reunited with Mein.

"I can do this! Go back!" She started pushing me aside, but I didn't let her.

"It's just a second! Let me!" I tried to use the pipe, but she just didn't let me do anything.

"No you idiot! It's my turn!"

"You're the stubborn one! I'll finish this!"

As I was trying to do it, I suddenly turned back to face de seal-demons. When did they get here?!

"See?! Let Pumpkin do it!" She thinks she won this fight?! The war is still on!

I leaned forward, and rushed at the enemy once again.

"Stupid blob creature!" I yelled for power and struck the steel tube in its grassy chest.

I was sure I had pierced the heart, but it tried to use his bigger mass to crush me once again. As it was trying to do that, I suddenly remembered something very disturbing that Seryu taught me.

Before it tackled me, I thrust my left hand into its jaw and pulled backwards. This is cringing...!

I felt a loud crack through my arm, meaning that I had broken its jawbone. I was supposed to rip it out! I can't do these things Seryu!

"Done!" Mein yelled behind me.

I saw a rather big hole for both of us, with most of the metal in a bright orange cover. How powerful was that last blast? It isn't melting, but I can feel the heat transferring over to me.

"Quickly!" I told her to rush while I maintained occupied the seals. Even with its jaw broken, it's trying to kill me.

I swung the pipe against its head, twisting it way beyond the normal point. I used that precious time to get into the hole.

"Took you long enough." She said displeased.

I was right behind you...

"...Let's go." They are still trying to kill us.

This looked like a copycat of the previous area, but the cells, even if opened, didn't have anything inside of it. Even then, we didn't want to be here for too long.

"We should meet up with Akame." Mein said as we started going up some stairs way too big for a normal person.

"I guess." I'm not really fond of that option, but I don't want to fight more disgusting things.

We climbed some more stairs and entered a wide area, like a fighting ring. The fact that there were seats in the corners just affirmed my point.

There were two people in the middle. I almost immediately recognized one of them. White trench coat, glasses, blue eyes and a whole bunch of hit me in the face.

"Stylish..."

However, I had never seen the girl that stood beside her. She had short blond hair, and was more or less the same height as Mein. She had a ribbon on her head, and wore a turquoise dress... Did Alice escape from Wonderland?

"Tatsumi boy, even if I had my suspicion about you, I'd never thought you'd tag with Night Raid. But I'm sad to tell you that you've already lost." Every word he said fueled my anger.

"Just because you have a new friend, it doesn't change your fate."

I flexed my wrist for a moment, and lunged forward.

"Damn it, Tatsumi!" I heard Mein complaining, but I realized something too late.

It was stupid to charge like that. Wait shit!

Stylish started running like the mad man he was. So the girl is trying to save him time?

I was about to attack her when a voice in my mind completely changed my strategy.

_What if she's a teigu user?!_

Damn it... If I fight her Stylish will run away! But if I don't Mein...!

The girl rushed over to me. I was surprised to see that she wasn't that fast, but...

I saw a bright light in the corner of my eye, and barely missing my whole head. The innocent-looking girl barely dodged the beam that was headed towards her head.

"Tatsumi, go!" Mein locked down on the blond girl again.

"Mein...? You can't believe how grateful I am!" I dodged the blond girl and entered the same door that Stylish used.

Are you going to be fine, Mein?

* * *

The two girls faced each other in a distance of 15 meters. A rather close distance for a sniper, but not for Mein. She couldn't stop and see what kind of strategy that 'innocent' girl would use. So the best option was to shoot her down before she could get near.

"You know he's gonna die, right?" The girl cracked her knuckles in a rather calm way.

"As if I care!" Mein aimed at her head with an astonishing speed. She didn't even feel the recoil of Pumpkin, but it was more than enough to kill in a single fire.

She watched how the girl clumsily fell to the ground, barely dodging the beam.

To dodge it at that close range was rather impressive, impossible to a normal human. She could have upgraded her body, but it wasn't a safe bet. Mein could handle herself in a hand to hand combat, but she didn't know how long.

She aimed once again, this time with a wider attack range but less powerful. How much could that blonde take?

However, she had to quickly change of target as she saw more of those wolf-human hybrids appearing from the same door Tatsumi and Stylish had disappeared into. What happened to them...?

As soon as the beam pierced the hybrid's skull, she shot at the blonde again. Had she moved closer?

"How much are you going to hold...?" Her enemy started saying, as more nimble creatures appeared.

As if following matriarch, the mutants stopped around the girl. To control those creatures like that... she must have mastered some kind of alchemy. Maybe that's how she got stronger... In any case, those creatures were a bother.

_She can't get close, so she's using them to gain time? As if that's going to work... _

"I don't know. When are you going to die?" She answered with confidence.

Apparently her alchemist rival had a short fuse. She took off a syringe, but Mein quickly shot it down without hesitating. She couldn't let her use drugs.

Or that was what she was thinking, until all the creatures around started to get frenzied. What the hell...?

"Bye bye!" All the creatures, including the small alchemist rushed over to her.

She had to hold her off enough to let Leone and Akame arrive. What were those two doing...?

* * *

Leone watched a blinking light right where Akame and Mein should be at. That meant something had gone wrong... Maybe they were attacked? With Lubbock recovering, they couldn't know their surroundings... Even with her teigu, she couldn't perceive every little trap.

In any case, she still had a mission to do. She was supposed to make a distraction in the entrance, with Mein's support while Akame sneaked in and killed Stylish. She would have liked Susanoo's help too, but he was too busy taking on the bulk of forces in the mountain's base.

How the hell did that guy get so many S class danger beasts...?

"Leone." She looked over at a slightly unsettled Akame. She had rushed all the way over here...

"What happened? Did Mein fell off because of her dress?" She joked, trying to lift her spirit.

"She fell. Through a whole. Spooky Captain is with her." She said without losing her expression.

"Spoo- You mean the one who worked with justice girl? Ah goddamn it... Why didn't you kill him!" She complained, only to get frustrated as Akame didn't react.

"He isn't a threat." Leone facepalmed as she didn't understand her reasoning.

"And Mein allowed that? Because, you told her his involvement, right?" Leone waited for an answer she already knew.

"I thought she'd get sad." She said averting her eyes, as if really feeling her pain.

"Agh... It's not like she loves him or anything, but we can't have him around her. It's just... Sorry... Let's find Mein and end Stylish." She sighed over the sudden loss of Mein, but regained her usual self moments after.

"Mm..."

A strong punch broke through the fake wall, opening what it seemed to be a large warehouse. It looked to be filled with machinery, but one couldn't be so sure.

"No resistance yet? This is going to be easy."

The two of them entered the area and found nobody, not even an animal inside. They swiftly reached the inside, but the path diverged in two.

"Mein should be over there." Akame pointed at her right, which was way too silent to be good.

"I'll check the west then. Find her before that Tatsumi gets her the wrong ideas into her head." She answered with a nod, and they parted ways.

"Good luck..."

Leone headed towards the left hallway that was freshened with a light rose fragrance. This yelled Mad Scientist in every way. That or more pawnies.

She arrived into a smaller area, filled with more eccentric machinery and tools. She didn't need to know what they were to suspect what they did. Lots and lots of pain... And a nail polisher.

Not sensing anything wrong, she went deeper into the warehouse.

As she entered the final area, she immediately felt a disturbance in the air. This section was filled with aisles, as if it was shop. But they were all empty. Something resided here... like a playground for animals.

She heard a growl, and watched how lone wolf-human hybrid appeared from one of the shelves.

It didn't attack, instead it moved its waist as if trying to...

"Oh hell no." As soon as it tried to hump her, she quickly twisted its neck producing a loud crack.

As soon as she dropped the lifeless corpse, she heard a very distinct sound. Somebody... was clapping.

She looked up to see the clapping man observing her in top of one of the selves, almost laughing.

She just saw the crossed scar in his face, and immediately recognized him. What was the son of the Prime Minister doing here?

"Well, well, well. What are you doing here Titty-chan? It looks like your body attracts even the most repugnant things!" He said while pointing at the dead hybrid.

"The fuck are you doing here? Are you also Stylish's playtoys?" She started to think an strategy, as Syura wasn't a pushover.

He just laughed off her words as if they were meaningless.

"I like aggressive girls, you know? They're the best kind to break little by little. Tell me you're a feisty type too and I'll have a fucking good time."

As soon as she entered a fighting stance, Syura disappeared from sight. He hadn't moved quickly or anything, he had literally vanished.

She didn't have time to react as a kick sent her flying without any warning. Had he just materialized right there?!

She quickly got up, but he disappeared into another portal like it was a game.

She tried to predict where he would appear, but as she tried to turn around to face him, he grabbed her tail and undertook her against a wall.

What kind of teigu was that...? It looked like he had took some strain over using it, but he was still perfectly fine.

She stretched her arms and neck and fixed her poor tail.

"Let's dance, psychotic bastard!"

She was sure she could take him on in a fair battle, but with that teleporting teigu the chances decreased. If she was facing this danger, what was Akame fighting...?

* * *

The red eyed assassin cut through the hordes of Danger Beasts hybrids like butter, nothing more than a nuisance for her. Stylish should not have this many experiments in this lonely base, which meant somebody had been helping him. With Susanoo facing off the strongest ones, the base should be almost deserted. Did he knew that he was being targeted? No. That would be impossible.

Then... what was he hiding here, that it's so important? Whatever it was, they should destroy before it was too late. Although Stylish wasn't a fighter, it didn't mean he wasn't dangerous. And with him in the Jaegers, it could get worse.

"..."

A strange seal hybrid with a broken jaw tried to confront her, before being poisoned by Murasame. He was trying to create an army which could attack from water and ground?

No, there's a pattern in these mutations. They're different. Some retain the human body, while others morph it. They're made by different people. Stylish enhances the human body from the inside, while his ally enhances from the outside.

What they were trying to accomplish... was to combine both techniques. A perfect being in the outside and inside. If such a warrior was to be released in the war... it could be a balance swifter.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she reached a prison block, filled with bodies and with a faint smell of gunpowder. She looked at a door who had been blown open by something.

An explosion made the whole structure shudder like custard.

She passed through the broken door in the blink of an eye, and reached another similar prison block section. She could see a pair of stairs in the back of the room, but there were different creatures than before.

Instead of the normal wolf or seal hybrids she had been facing this looked more like... an arthropod.

Those three looked like human beetles... So this is the final pawn before the boss?

Those wolf like creatures had a small trait of intelligence as they tried to cooperate, but did these things too? They looked smart enough to carry a sword with them.

A lone scout charged at her, only to get sliced with Murasame. The poor thing wasn't even a...

"...!"

Murasame... was stuck in some thick sludge. What was this thing made of?

Did they think she was useless without a teigu? The first one was used as a sacrifice to make her lose her katana. It was a clever trap, but it all depended in the fact that she wouldn't be a threat without a teigu.

The other two beetle men attacked her, and she had to release her grip on the teigu.

Seeing herself surrounded, she already knew what to do.

A good-old bare-knuckled brawl.

* * *

**Ah... feels good to write in the mornings. **

**So that quad battle right there... In canon Stylish attacked Night Raid's base, this time is the other way around. And Tatsumi just fucked over that plan.**

**Alrighty, we have Tatsumi against Stylish, Mein against Dorothea and Hybrids, Leone against Syura, Akame against Dorothea's troops and... Susanoo against S class Danger Beasts (Which I'm not going to show because he's a beast, and we already know the outcome of that one). Too wide of a variety...**

**But why would Syura be there...? **

**Sadly, nobody won a cookie at guessing the meaning of this arc's name :( But some of you were right at doubting the obvious answer! So, let's split that cookie between everyone!**

**Anyways, finally reaching my motivated stage of this story. I don't have a title for the next chapter yet, but I had in mind calling it "Hekatonkheires" But decided not to for... uh... things. **

**THAAAAAAAAANK YOU so much for reviewing, following and favoriting this fic. I can't believe there's still people getting interested in my story!**

**Tell me, who has it worse? Who do you think it's going to win or lose? And last but not least... Is Tatsumi going to go apeshit?!**

**Than you again for reading until this point! Agur!**


	14. Brotherly Love

**Short chapterino! The reason is explained below!**

* * *

**Enslaved Soldier Arc**

**_Brotherly Love _**

* * *

A sudden horde of enemies appeared in front of me, trying to slow me down as I reached Stylish. There weren't any rooms or anything. It was a straight up hallway with a door in the end.

Of course, I was giving the walls a nice coat of red paint and brain jam. I'm not usually this messy, but this is all Mein's fault for not letting me keep the sword. This freaking pipe is distressing!

I didn't know heads could be uprooted like that. It's just a swing and pop! There goes the whole skull. And the bones break so easily too. I don't know if I should feel proud or scared of this, but I feel good...

In any case, this was tiring. And Stylish was gaining too much distance. I guess I could always...

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

I pushed aside more masked beings, and charged through the horde of experiments. Don't mind collateral damage. The main objective is Stylish.

A wolf-hybrid attacked me, but before it had time to bite me I shot his jaw off. I think that's my favorite bone. And it means shark too...

I have to reload, later.

I finally reached a way too small area, with a very strange cage in the middle of it. Like... it was a cage inside of a cage. Strange... Even while I fended off the hybrids, I saw that Stylish was inside of it. Was he stupid or...?

The cage started to go down, like it was entering the realms of hell. What the hell is that thing...? It's being pulled down by those wires. How do I go down? There aren't any stairs...

"STOP YELLING!" My god, these things are annoying!

I smashed the skull of another nimble thing, and quickly tried to enter the cage too.

But how the hell do I call the smaller one up here? Uh...

Screw it, sliding off the wires.

I sent flying another experiment and grabbed the wires. They're covered in oil...? So that means that I can't... stop.

Shit.

I slid down without control, as the oiled wires didn't give me any friction. I'm not going to die by a stupid fall!

I tried helplessly to stop myself, but the fall wasn't as big as I thought. Barely a second after, I had reached the top of the smaller cage.

It was still moving down, so I that means that Stylish is inside.

Hmm...

Breaking it.

I felt compelled to break the wires, but I could also die. So like this thing doesn't have a trap door, I'll make one. Without any charges. Unless, dying is a charge... A charge for the poor soul keeper that has to bear with this mad doctor.

This part was made of metal. But even metal has structural weak points. Specially if it's made of bad quality steel. Thank god I learnt some basics of being blacksmith.

Which means that if this was made not too long ago, the folding of the steel would start to degrade... uh...

I think something's falling.

I looked up to see that the idiots were jumping off to get me. I need to do this quick, before this small hole gets filled with dead bodies.

I quickly reloaded the pistol and stabbed one of the hybrids that tried to crush me with the fall.

I stomped the thin sheet which I pierced without too much problem. In response, the strange device stopped going down, and I heard how someone rushed out of there.

I threw the pipe in the small hole I made, and used my hands to make a bit bigger for myself, but not too big for the experiments that were trying to kamikaze me.

Without not too much effort, I entered the small hole with a bit of resistance. The structure screeched as I fell, and I swiftly grabbed the pipe leaving the cage immediately.

I think... this was called a lift. I remember reading about something like that, but we don't have a combustible to make it work.

Ah! Stop thinking about irrelevant things!

I looked at the path ahead of me. It was silent. There was only a long, almost imperceptible buzz. As I approached the end, the buzz became more and more unbearable. There was something... that told me not to go any further, but I negated those thoughts without hesitation.

I didn't understand anything. What the hell is this section...?

As soon as I entered the white-coated room, my eyes focused in a strange panel with lots of buttons. In fact, it looked like it was the only thing in this room. I don't know what they did but... there were lots images on top of them. And they are moving. What the...

Was that Akame fighting...? And that's Mein... And then there's that person who kicked me that one time... What the... is this some kind of real time... magic or something, I don't know.

"This is only a small accomplishment of science." A voice startled me while I admired the strange moving images. I looked back to see Stylish without any weapon. He was just standing there like bait.

Was he tempting me...?

"Science...? And what did Seryu have to do with that?! She wasn't just a guinea pig for your useless experiments!" I argued back as I held back the urge of killing him right there.

I want to know why... Why was she used like that?

"And she was a successful experiment, wasn't she? Do you not know how many times I failed in creating a perfected weapon? Science never solves a problem without creating ten more. It didn't matter how many times I tried to make a human body perfect, it simply doesn't hold up." Experiment?! Perfect weapon? Don't give me that crap!

"Is that the reason you've been creating these hybrid monsters?! Humans don't work, so let me fuse them with danger beasts?" He merely laughed at that.

"That's part of the equation. But I discovered that even then, they lacked of that... Stylish spice that it needs to be perfect. And thanks to your slip up, I obtained the last ingredient."

"See, I hadn't realize what of a magnificent being Hekatonkheires was. Regeneration is something almost unattainable for humans. But even then, it had the weakness of having a core. So thanks to Dorothea, we found out how to make a perfect being." He looked at me with a mischievous smile.

"You... don't mean..." No, that can't be. It can't be...

"Of course, a teigu like that doesn't activate at random. And we had just the perfect candidate. So, I thought, what makes it activate? Much to my fan alchemist despair, I started removing limbs until I left the spinal cord and brain intact." I felt my stomach ache as I heard those words.

Why... to Seryu...?

"Then came the tricky part of fusing them both. So th-"

My heart starting to hurt. I felt a sharp pain on my lungs. Stop it... Stop it...! Seryu didn't... deserve that!

"SHUT UP! You're going to suffer like she did!"

I stepped forward, making him nervous. He pulled out a small containment, more or less as big as my hand. It was filled with the same goo that I swam in before.

I see... I see... I remembered seeing that liquid before. I saw one of Koro's chopped off arms in the ground, and it slowly became liquid... Then that means...

What the hell was I swimming in?! How did he create _so _ much of that?! The only way that goo can be crafted is by Koro, right...? Did the fucker really fuse them?!

Then whatever is inside is...?

No.

Seryu is dead. Whatever fraction of her resides inside of that, it's not the girl I...

I shot down the small crystal bottle from his hand, hoping it would break. However, even if he lost the grip on it, the bottle didn't shatter as I expected. It survived a bullet? We aren't that far apart, more or less ten meters.

"A-Ah... Ahahahaha!" He laughed awkwardly, as if really not expecting that. "Did you think I'd use a fragile container? That would be st-"

I pulled out my last frag grenade, and pulled the pin. Stylish suffered a breakdown as he tried to find shelter, and I threw it with an astonishing precision. It landed right beside it.

I'm not that much of an idiot, and I threw myself to the ground to not suffer from the shrapnel. There isn't anything to hide behind in this room.

The sound of the explosion was intense, but brief.

I looked at the aftermath of the explosion, which left a black patch in the ground. The strange devices that had the moving images were broken, and whatever lied inside that flask was scattered all over the place.

"You think... that going to work?!" The mad scientist said between coughs. Smoke and dust had filled the air momentarily.

Oh right. Have to finish this.

"Well, yes." I stood up, and reaffirmed the grip on the pipe. "Let's see how that thing regenerates after being blown to bits."

The face of terror that Stylish had didn't even affect me. I thought I'd feel happy or satisfied, but I didn't feel anything.

"I built an invulnerable being! You think just an explosion it's going to do the trick?!" It looked like he was trying hard not to stutter.

And after that I stopped. What he said didn't end my march. The goo was moving. In its own.

I slowly turned myself around to see how it was piling up like it was being attracted like a magnet. As more and more reunited, it started to shift of form...

...

_I remembered when she bombed me with questions about my life in my village. I felt like she did it just to feel more at ease at the grim atmosphere of the capital._

_But then, as I was about to leave and go to sleep, she asked me that question._

_"Why... do they call me justice girl?" _

_The moment she asked that, coupled with that sincere look on her face, my view on that character completely changed. She went from being a creepy, crazy, and dangerous lady that I thought should be avoided at all cost, to being a highly misunderstood lady that suffered from a genuine mental disorder, but that deep down she is really a nice and compassionate person that craves companionship and friendship. _

_From that moment I realized that as much as she wanted to be the big sister, we were just as immature as children. We protected each other without really acknowledging it. _

_I thought... that I was the one protecting everyone in the city from her, but I was just protecting her from herself._

...

"So... I couldn't even do that...?"

Not only I wasn't able to save you from Night Raid, you can't even rest in peace now...?

I lack of power to do anything.

I'm... just useless.

I looked once again at what used to be goo. It had surely gained a pale pink tone, and it didn't look as squishy as before. Light still passed through it, but not too much. For now, it greatly reassembles like... a human... with arms, and legs... And naked.

I couldn't really see her face, but I didn't need to. Why though...? Why does she look so much like her...? It's not like I've seen her naked but still...

"Strange, she shouldn't have matured so quickly." I heard Stylish mutter under his breath.

I wanted to move. I really wanted to. But my body didn't listen. The feelings I had were just too much.

She isn't Seryu... It doesn't matter how much she reassembles her...

She isn't...

She isn't...

She isn't...

But... if she is...

Like a clock that had started to move, the human look-alike tried to get up and stand on her own two feet but failed miserably.

It seemed sh-... it had no idea where it was. It looked around like it had been born in this world for the first time. The long hair almost reached the ground, but was messy and broken, like it hadn't been properly fixed.

It looked like it had some kind of self awareness, as she... it quickly covered herself and clumsily tried to approach the nearby wall.

And just like that our eyes met.

It... She didn't just look like her. It was her.

My sight got filled with tears, as I suddenly started crying. Stop it... I don't want to.

I promised to not cry...

I promised...

I wiped my tears away, and realized that she didn't stop looking at me. At first I thought she was going to attack me, but I saw no malice behind it.

In fact, she suddenly widened her eyes and moved her mouth, as if trying to speak.

I was in shock to do anything. Did she recognized me? Or was it something else? How is she remembering things? She was just a pile of... No, Stylish fused Koro with her, right? AGH! This science is hard...

My trail of thought was broken as she extended her hand, as if telling me to get close.

I tried to move once again, but my body didn't respond.

Come on, body. Was I always such a coward?

She's right there... she's right...

I wasn't able to do anything, and my heart sank like a rock.

Her hand literally fell off her body like it was a milk tooth. Blood didn't appear. It just fell down.

I looked speechless as it turned into goo once again. She reacted in panic, as her body was slowly becoming less solid and falling off like autumn leafs. Every time she tried to move, the body disappeared even faster. Her body was melting right in front of her eyes.

She looked at me once again. She was pleading for help. I was the only one that could. I was the only one that wanted.

But I didn't know what to do.

And I just stood there, helpless. I didn't even say anything. What could I say anyways?

I... I'm pathetic, right? That's how you're seeing me right now.

I closed my eyes as she disappeared in the goo, and tried to forget what I had just witnessed. It seems... that I can't be allowed a rest.

It took me a while to realize what I was doing here. I had not heard Stylish in quite a while now.

I didn't even realize of how quickly I moved as I saw the only door of the room shutting down in a great speed. It locked down with a brisk sound.

No. I will not miss my chance.

I used the pipe to dent the door, and used all my strength to lift it up against its nature. He was hoping that Seryu would attack me?! That inhuman bastard thinks that a thing iron door will stop me?!

And in the hallway, I spot him. It didn't seem that he had heard me.

I didn't hesitate. Whatever thoughts of diplomacy I had some minutes ago, had utterly disappeared.

I leaped forward, quickly diminishing the distance that separated us. I made him trip with a kick and he was thrown to the ground. Stylish didn't seem to understand what happened, however, he started groaning while lying on the ground.

He can't exist in this world anymore. If he lives and more people suffer... it will be my responsibility for letting that happen.

Right around my feet, he's still lying on the floor pathetically. Some minutes ago I didn't feel anything as he was scared... but now, I can't help smirking at his goofy look.

"...Ooh... It hurts...!"

That little scratch hurts? You don't know pain. What Seryu has been going through is pain.

...You will pay for her suffering with your life!

So don't worry Seryu... Your brother will end your affliction now!

Execute him! Kill him! Kill him!

Extremely calmly, I gave him a blow in the back of his head. He covers his head, naturally. That answer is automatic.

Like smashing a worm, I hit him over and over. Not enough to kill him. Not yet.

After hitting his head, I go for his flank. He coils his body? I go for his back. He stumbles? I go for his legs.

Knees, elbow.

It doesn't even matter where I hit him anymore. I just keeps smashing him over and over so that he starts panicking.

"...!"

He manages to stand up after stumbling for a second... and pulled something from his sleeve.

A syringe, filled with some unknown chemical. Does he think I'm not fast enough?

I didn't even feel bad as I shot his hand, making him drop the syringe. He yelled in pain and started to run away, leaving a trail of blood like bread crumbs.

It doesn't even take a blink of an eye to catch up with him to strike again. However, I maintained this speed. No need to rush things, right?

I can easily hit his back, shoulder, or head, despite my unnatural posture. Every time I hit him, he groans, begs for his life. But I feel nothing.

After taking this many shots, he's still running on his feet no problem. It's sort of admirable, really. But I don't need to praise that. He picks on the weak, but he can't fight back the strong. Worthless... fucking human.

This creature... hurt Seryu a lot. She's been injured inside and out, with wounds that had never recovered. You used her, without any remorse.

"WHOOOOAAAAHHHH!"

My calmness gave up, making a way for beastliness. I've been holding myself back enough.

He screamed when he heard my roar. While covering his head, he runs, runs... runs...

How long have we been running? It doesn't matter. I don't care about Mein or Akame. You'll grow tired, your lungs won't hold much more.

He got hit badly in his head with the pipe, and with an splash of sweat and saliva he starts bleeding.

If you hadn't existed... I would be happy! I'd enjoy my time with Seryu, maybe even tolerate Koro!

His stumbling made him collide against one of the walls, and watched helplessly how his death appeared.

It's over. Over! End it! You can't run away anymore!

Splatter your shitty brains and DIE!

An explosion roared like thunder. I even feel the quake and started to smell gunpowder.

This time... the hit felt different. The pipe had cut into the top of his head deeply... It feels like the head is caving in and biting the pipe.

His body fell to the ground like a sack of rice. It twitched in a creepy way and stopped.

He could be playing dead... If I'm not too sure... I can always smash him as much as I want until he's surely dead.

I lift the pipe in a large motion and swing it down.

His body twitches, but doesn't do anything else.

I aim once again and swing it down. He reacted the same way.

I keep pounding his head for a while... eventually, the feel starts to change.

There's no doubt anymore. He's dead.

I don't feel any sense of achievement or regret. I no longer feel anger for him, or pity for Seryu.

Instead I looked at the pipe. It hadn't been warped too much, even if I used it roughly. It just looks... eerie, covered with blackish red blood.

...I feel my body cooling down.

Calm down...

That's right...

Finally... I've done it...

...What...

...What... was that explosion? It felt really close.

Taking some deep breaths, I started to walk away from the crime scene. As I walk away, I start to hear somebody laughing maniacally, as if he had had the time of his life.

It was me.

He deserved much more. Turning Seryu into that, maybe even while still conscious... And that girl from before... did she help? I zoned out as he started to explain how... Stop that.

... I hope... that she didn't suffer as she melted.

My laugh calmed down as I reached the hall where that elevator thingy was at. Instead that there was a huge hole, filled with debris. If I'm correct, they should have been fighting here... but a floor up.

Damn it Mein... what did you just do...?

* * *

**Some moments before...**

Pumpkin couldn't exactly change modes like nothing. She needed to change some parts before she could use her effectively. But of course, in a closed environment she couldn't do that. Switching modes could kill her. Besides, she couldn't let Pumpkin overheat.

Snipers usually move after they take a shot. And even more if you're being chased. But being overwhelmed with beings of unusual speed and it top of all that, an unknown foe was quite stressing.

Making sure to not overstrain her teigu, Mein obliterated more experiments with a strong blast. She had to keep moving while shooting, but it wasn't a problem. What really was a problem was...

"Come here girly!" That insane alchemist trying to grab her! In too many ways!

She didn't even attack! She just... tried to get close... And that was a bad omen in every way.

Thinking on the long run Mein started to aim not directly at her, but at the ground. Making sure it wasn't too obvious. In any case, you can't really shoot at the floor without making it obvious.

After the last creature fell, the ground was filled with blood and chunks of flesh. Once again, it was a one on one.

"I'm really disappointed on you. When are you going to destroy the ground?" The alchemist started talking, as if already knowing her plan.

"...You know, for somebody who is an alchemist, you're really not that clever." Mein answered with a wry smile, as if it was very forced.

"Alright then." The blond girl looked at the ground, and stomped it.

The already weak ground started shaking, clearly threatening to fall at any moment. How could that girl do that?! Just how strong is she...?!

The ground collapsed without warning. Falling without control, against that enemy was the pinch she needed to...

What at first seemed like a reflex move, it was a carefully coordinated attack. They both started falling without a ground, so it would be natural to accidentally shoot a gun. But for a genius sniper, those things don't happen.

It all happen in less than a second.

She aimed at the ceiling, right above where the alchemist should be. She just needed to adjust to the fall, while keeping steady her grip... and...

A strong beam impacted the ceiling with a loud explosion. The rocky ceiling shattered into pieces right above the alchemist which should die by the impact and the fall.

Mein should be alright... in some way.

Unless Pumpkin had way too much power and the whole structure started collapsing. Which could be a very big possibility seeing that there are way too many cracks in the...

The collapse didn't last very long, which was very good for her.

Thanks to some divine intervention, Mein didn't exactly come unharmed but was left in a very good shape. And Pumpkin... Where was it? It should be at her hands, right?!

She had to find it! It was a primary target now!

However, it seemed that she had run out of positive karma. Her left leg was stuck below some debris, but she could at the very least get on her knees.

In any case... was that enough to kill that alchemist...?

* * *

**A/N: ****Short chapter... and why you may ask? Because I know somebody would get offended about what was going to happen. I don't blame you, it's obviously not a laughing matter. But just decided to split the chapter to give me some more time to think if I really want everybody to hate me, or just dislike me (More than usual). In any case, if I think it's too much I'll... probably put a warning or something. I mean, I bet somebody is going to say: "Well, it wasn't that bad, you overexaggerating piece of shit.". But I'm just being careful. Don't shoot the messenger!**

**So, yeah, serious me off. I don't have much to say, except that it's not the last we'll see of my c̶r̶a̶z̶y̶ cute justice girl. **

**On brighter news... I realized that this story has surpassed 100K! That's a HUUUUUGE milestone for me. So, maybe you all would want a special chapter? No sad things, no murders... just, happy time with balloons, **

**Or maybe I can release some scenes of the original draft. For example, I was VERY inclined into making Tatsumi kill Seryu in the worst way possible, which is why I've written it. Or some naughty stuff between Chelsea and Tatsumi when they infiltrate the Red district... why? I don't know, I just felt like it. Damn horny kids!**

**And of course, who has motivated me enough to reach that many words? M̶y̶ ̶c̶o̶r̶g̶i̶ ALL of you! I don't get many reviews, or hell, I've been stuck in 150 followers since like... a lot BUUUT just knowing that there's people waiting for a new chapter just... BOOOOM! That's the feeling!**

**I don't even know if people read this notes! But I don't care!**

**T-T-T-T-THAAANK YOU! Everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed this story! **

**And as always... what is next chapter's title...? Welp, it's probably going to be "_Alchemists don't lie." _Probably along with the message above, it's enough to know what is going to happen. Maybe less fucked up, or maybe more. **

**Expect it this Sunday! Or saturday... depending were you live. **


	15. Hit Rock Bottom

**Dark chapter ahead.**

**This could be a useless warning but... If you can't handle things like humiliation, rape or suicide then I suggest you to stop reading right here. **

**I did my best to not eh... describe certain scenes.**

* * *

**Enslaved Soldier Arc**

_**Hit Rock Bottom**_

* * *

The whole area had collapsed on its own, probably because of that teigu. What used to be a ceiling had been destroyed, and now everything was buried under a big layer of rubble. Mine and... eh... alchemist girl should be fighting right above me which means that they must have fallen too.

I covered my mouth as the dust was filling the air, even if it had been a while since that explosion occurred.

This should be easy... just try to find something pink. Pink...

I easily removed some rocks and debris that were in my way, and started looking around. The amount of chunks of bodies I was seeing was astonishing. Did she destroy the ground to even the odds? That was very reckless, if I say so myself.

Every now and then I saw puddles of blood dripping from the rubble, and out of fear I removed the rocks just to find more dead experiments. This is just stupid... how many were there?!

"Hello there..." My eyes noticed the change of color some meters in front of me, and I headed that way relieved. Let's hope you're alive...

"Took you long enough!" And this is what I get after actually caring for someone. Neat.

I finally reached Mein without too much trouble. It seems like her leg was stuck from her foot to her knee thanks to some debris. By the looks of it, she can't really turn around and she's face down in the cold floor.

"Does it hurt?" I tried to move over the rock that was in top of her foot, but if I did more rubble would fall on her. I'll try to clear the way and then...

"Maybe... Since you stole my shoes, everything is going wrong for them." That was not on purpose!

"It was the gravity... of the situation." I tried to use the pipe as a crowbar to have a much easier time, and it kind of worked. Some debris fell, but it didn't exactly work.

"Are you proud of that joke?" She slightly turned around, as she couldn't do much with her foot stuck. It seems like she's searching for something.

"Actually, I'm surprised I was able to say that after what I've seen." I moved out of the way another rock, just to make more fall.

I should have just left her here... Akame is going to come anyways, so I'm not needed. I haven't seen if my face is soaked with tears...

"AH! That hurt!" She protested.

"..." I simply grunted as I tried my best. Can't she see that I'm trying? Does her brain not allow praises or am I missing something?

"My feet are down there you know?!"

"If you keep whining, the rocks will be the least of your worries!" My exhaustion got the best of me as I lost myself for a second. "Sorry..."

She didn't answer, perhaps out of common sense. This wasn't my day after all... At least it can't get any worse.

"...Have you seen Pumpkin in the way?" She suddenly said, as she looked around. So she's searching that. Should have guessed.

"No. Not really." Say something else or she'll hate you. "I'm sure we'll find it."

I was about to move more rubble out of the way when I heard a low rumbling noise, right behind me. Please, let me rest...

"You... You did kill that girl, right?" I said, not really believing that a person would survive that fall and a boulder crushing her. Then again... how is Mein alive?

"G-Give me your handgun!" She got on her knees and started to pull my pants trying to reach my belt.

Wait, she can kneel?! Why didn't she tell me? It would have helped a lot!

"Just take it. Have some ammo if you want." I quickly gave her the handgun along with my remaining bullets.

She's a good sniper, I'll admit it. So let's hope she hasn't forgotten how to use that and doesn't actually hit me.

If what's her name... Dorothea or something like that. If she has survived after getting crushed by a boulder, I'm not liking my chances. Not to mention that I don't know her teigu, and Mein's is lost in this mess.

So I'm a little very terrified.

"We just have to hold until Akame arrives." She whispered as she reloaded the bullets it missed.

"Right."

I swallowed my fear, and advanced to give Mein some space. The terrain was irregular, so I have to make sure she can shoot. I don't know if I can win without her, so I have to protect her.

There was a small leap in front of us, so if we fought up there Mein should be able to shoot. If I'm close enough.

Not even three steps before a hand broke through all the concrete, breaking it like it was paper. She popped out of her own trap slowly as if wondering if that had really happen.

"As if I was going to die crushe-" Her glare suddenly focused on me, clearly surprised.

"He's dead, isn't he?" And apparently she's a clairvoyant.

"Your project ultimately failed. A perfect being is something that can't exist. So why don't you start searching for the rabbit again, and we'll continue this another day?" Please I don't want to fight. Please...

"I didn't know Night Raid was so naive." She giggled, not losing sight of me.

She believes I'm with them? Better that way... I guess?

"Don't worry I'll end this quickly." I said as I lunged forward, aiming at her head.

She didn't move in the whole exchange. I was surprised, but I didn't stop and swung the pipe with all my strength.

A really soft sound, quite different from all the others was created.

I didn't miss. I'm sure I couldn't fail.

Surprise is the only word that can describe this very moment.

She had stopped me effortlessly, with strength much greater than what I've ever witnessed. She merely squeezed the metal tube and it bent like paper. So, of course, she could pretty much kill me right now with a well placed punch.

I took a step back, trying to digest what had just happened. So she's like... much stronger than me. And she broke my only weapon.

The pipe had been bent like an acute angle, meaning that it was useless for me. The reach was the best thing about this weapon, and now that's gone.

She took advantage of my slip, and tried to... grab me for some reason. Not a kick or anything, a grapple. Why...?

I easily avoided her, as she didn't really try. I think. Or I'm just awesome like that.

"Well, what are you going to do now?" She asked me as I threw to the side my only weapon.

"What do you think?"

If I'm able to held my ground against Seryu, this girl is going to be easy. But I can't let her touch me, or I'm dead. And considering how I ended up against her... well, let's just play defensive.

I rolled up my sleeves, and adopted the stance my sister told me about. Let's make her proud!

If I want any chance to win, I can't let her attack at all!

I attacked her with swift punches, combined with a kick to complete the combo. She managed to dodge me, but I could see that she wasn't _that _fast. Her strength is the thing that worries me, because she might break me in half.

I didn't let her catch a breath, even if I needed to rest too. I had already burnt too much energy fighting hordes of horrifying creatures, and not to mention what I did to Stylish. Enjoyed every second, I tell you!

So if I have to wi- Shit!

I almost bit my tongue as she leaped forward like a freaking carnivore. I sidestepped without too much trouble, and decided that I couldn't waste this opportunity.

Overpowering her is out of the list. Much like Seryu, the only I can beat her is by a decisive, strong hit on a weak point. And right in this moment, that weak point is... The neck! I have the speed advantage, right?

And like all my encounters against Seryu, I fell right in the trap like mice.

Just as I was about to strike her, she blocked me firmly. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me closer. I couldn't do anything as she leaned over me and bit my neck.

I realized way too late that I had over seen a very important fact. Did she have a teigu? The answer is yes.

After her fangs pierced my skin and started sucking my blood, my consciousness started to fade away.

She wasn't only sucking my blood. She was completely stealing my soul. I couldn't even ignore the fact that... it didn't really hurt. I felt... calmed.

All that encounter didn't even last a full second when I heard a gunshot.

She released me, probably to dodge the bullet if she could, but I didn't have any strength to get up. My legs failed, and I fell to the ground, exhausted. I slid down the little scarp we were standing of, and hit the ground with a blank noise.

"T-Tatsumi! Get up! I-I-I'm still stuck!"

Mein started to shake me, but I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. I fell pretty close to her but... I was tired... I can't... I don't want to fight anymore...

"His blood was actually pretty good. I've never tasted something like that."

I heard another gunshot. That's the last one before a reload... which means...

I winced in pain as somebody kicked me away.

Shit...

Not now...

Mein...

I'm going to lose another person...?

I'm going to give up, after everything that's happened to me?

I can't.

I have to fight.

I've lost Sayo, Ieyasu, Seryu but no more. Mein won't be in that list.

I will...

I will...

"I will..."

I slowly got up, gathering everything I had to move my body. Even if I didn't feel as weak as before, I wouldn't be able to beat her. Buy time... I have to buy time. It doesn't matter how. I just have to make her focus on me.

"I will defend you..."

I managed to get up on both feet. It seemed that my shoulder was still bleeding a bit, but I'm still good...in the head. As long as I'm mentally capable, I'm sure I'll last. After all, I am the one who keeps this body going. Screw teigus, and screw body modifications!

The alchemist focused on me once again, but her glare felt quite different from before. What was it...?

"You still have strength to play? I guess this girly did save you." She crouched down and removed Mein's hair bands for some reason. She looks weird without twin tails...

Where is the handgun...? Why did you let her take it! That was my las-

No, wait. I still have a smoke grenade. But... this is useless! I can't use it and save Mein. However... if I use it I could escape... and leave her here. I'm not from Night Raid, right? I have no motives to stay. I already did what I came for, so...

The hell am I thinking?!

"Your leg is stuck here... And you don't have any shoes. What were you thinking?" Dorothea started caress her head gently, like she a pet.

"H-Hey, stop!" Mein tried to fight back, but upside down and with her leg trapped, she couldn't do much.

Why is she doing that...? They were fighting to death, right? I did the same. But now she's... strange. Like... playful. Who the hell is she...?

A teigu that drains people? Super strength? Who the hell is Dorothea...? She appeared out of nowhere. And now...

Are you stupid, Tatsumi? Do something!

I started moving, too slow for anything. But I couldn't just let her do whatever! I'll protect her... I have to!

"So if you're pinky, he must be the brains." I heard her uttering those words. Just what the hell...

She creepily stopped petting Mein, and faced me again with an unpleasant smile. The smile of a ruler... No, the smile of a predator.

Alright... she might be strong, but even she must have pressure points. I just need to hit one of them. But, considering she has her guard up I won't be able to do it without getting a broken spine. And this kind of situation is why I carry spares.

Taking a deep breath, I pulled the pin from my last smoke grenade.

I threw it in front of me and started running. We can't see each other now, and if Mein is kind enough to realized what I'm doing, my chances just skyrocket. I know where she is, and she doesn't know where I'll attack. I just need to hit her collar bone and pressure down.

Smoke filled the area in front of me, covering everything from sight. I'm not in the best shape, but a sneak attack it's all I have. If I fail... well, let's hope Akame can get here soon. It will be the third time she'll save me but... Now it's not the time to think that.

The obvious way to attack would be using the leap at my left for a boost, and that's why I'm going to the right. Whether she realizes the same or not, I already threw the coin in the air.

My weak legs had already started moving in low speed, but I overstrained myself trying to use everything I had in one last sprint. Not losing any time, I disappeared in the smoke and attacked from the right, just as I planned.

My strategy kinda... worked. I was able to attack her, and rashly tried to make a good hit on a pressure point. But obviously, I had not made the cut.

She dodged me without too much trouble, and tried to grab me. However, the last drops of adrenaline gave me enough strength to push her arm away, and give me some distance.

One of my legs couldn't take anymore and I almost collapsed without any signs of stop. Hastily, I made one last effort to prevent my defeat, and managed to kneel down in one leg.

My lungs couldn't take anymore. And even if my heart tried his best, she drained too much blood to make anymore sacrifices.

I noticed a faint red color on my shirt. I thought it was from Stylish, but it felt too fresh for that. My shoulder was still bleeding from the two holes she made with her fangs... or teigu, whatever.

Shit...

I can give up yet.

Handgun... where did she throw it? If I can't find a gun then... Wait, Pumpkin. That does give me more chances. But that thing is as lost as my own weapon.

Buy time! Just buy time!

I staggered as I raised my fist in the air, trying to distract her as long as possible. But I was way too slow now.

The floor seems to be heading my way in an awesome speed... Oh wait, I've tripped over. Great.

Damn... this is everything I can do now. Just lay in the floor. I don't know if I can do anything else, but at the very least my consciousness isn't fading. I think... I'm a bit tired, that's all.

Maybe I'll close my eyes for a second though...

"T-Tatsumi...! Don't close your eyes!" A faint spark ran through my body, as if trying to wake my body up.

Apparently I'm not too far away from Mein. That's pretty bad... Wait... bullets...!

I pointed over to the small bullet beside her, that seemed to have been forgotten. It doesn't matter if I don't have a gun. Bullets have a small quantity of gunpowder inside. I'd need just a catalyst and somehow put it near her eyes...?

This is a really stupid plan... but I don't have anything else. I have to grasp every small hope...

Mein seemed to notice what I was pointing at, and she extended her hand to gave it to me.

I did the same, but as soon as I touched her hand, the alchemist stomped my elbow. I couldn't help but yell in pain, completely losing control of my arm.

"I don't think she's worth defending right now." I was hardly able to hear her words.

Think positive! Think positive! Don't hyperventilate!

T-Thank god it was the left arm! N-Not dominant hand... not dominant... Don't think about the pain...!

AHH! It hurts! It hurts! I thought about the pain!

After a bit of a struggle, I was able to break free. I don't think any bones are broken, but that hurt way too much. Another good hit like that, and I'm gone. Not dead but... surely not good.

"You know, I tend to stay aside from this stuff. But I guess it's your fault." I didn't understand what was she saying, so I just went back into pain mode. As long as she doesn't kill her, I don't really care.

I probably shouldn't have thought like that.

I watched helplessly how Dorothea pulled Mein's hair and made her kneel like a slave, even if she made her hardest to fight.

"I might have survived being crushed by a boulder. But if it's any consolation, that hurt like hell." Oh shit, she has grudge on her. That's bad! Very bad!

I touched my shoulder, and it seemed that I wasn't bleeding as much as I thought. Think Tatsumi! You came up with stupid strategies that somehow work! Think... Think...!

"Eyes are important for a sniper, right?" I watched how Mein got pale as death, clearly nervous. I couldn't imagine how she was restraining herself from total fear. I guess she's an assassin...

I felt the blood from my face disappearing as I saw Dorothea covering Mein's eyes. Before I was able to say anything, her arms lowered and became into a hug.

The alchemist provocatively got behind Mein, and started whispering in her ear. I couldn't make out anything of what she was saying, but for some reason Mein started to look at me fearfully.

What? I'm supposed to say something? Alright...?

"Eh... Stop that. I'm still... in the game." My breath seemed to have settled down, but my gut was telling me that I screwed up.

I clumsily tried to stand up again, much to the dismay of my muscles.

Come on... I have to... make her focus on me. That's right. I'm of no use as how I am right now. If I'm lucky, Mein will be able to escape and... well... I don't know. I don't actually know. I don't think there's anything I can do to prevent any more harm.

Where the hell is Akame?!

"That settles that, doesn't it?" Dorothea said, out of context for me. Whatever I did pronouncing those words, it made Mein more nervous than before.

I felt a rush of energy as she got awfully close to Mein, probably to bite her like she did to me. If she does that, we're done. In just a second I was left in this state, and Mein is way smaller than me. So... shit...!

Not yet!

Feeling the pain of a thousand snake bites, I tried to lunge forward without too much success. I fell again to the ground, groaning in pain. I bit down my lower lip as I saw that I couldn't do anything. Even trying my hardest, I'm going to lose more people. I should have ran away when I had the chance...

"...Pain doesn't amuse you, eh?" Oh, it does amuse me. I'm just too much of an idiot to realize that I'm probably breaking lots of things. "At least you're trying to fight, unlike this arrogant girl."

It's not that she can't fight, Dorothea is just too strong. If she tries to fight, her bones are just going to break. Right now, we're just... toys. Unable to do anything.

Maybe...

Maybe I know the reason we're still alive. But the whole change of attitude is just way too random. My blood can't be _that _mind-blowing. Unless she was really waiting for this moment. No, that is just a fluke of hormones. That _can't _be right.

My fears were confirmed as Dorothea leaned against Mein, and gave her a kiss that was as intense as it was unwanted. She just lacked strength to push her aside. Damn it...

Shit, shit, shit! Why am I so broken right now?! Why am I so far away?! Don't give up on me now body! We have to stop this!

Damn it, no. I can't watch. That must be what she's planning right? If I don't act then she'll grow bored. But... I can't rest her future in a possibility! What if she kills her right in front of me? But if I act then she might just not stop and...

Fuck! Why can't I do anything?!

God or whoever masquerades in his place, is just too cruel.

"No, stop it!" This is the only thing I can do? Scream in hopes of a better future? "I... You can torture me if you want! I killed Stylish and that... gooey thing. I have done far worse things!"

My words seemed to have reached her ears, much to my surprise. She stopped the french kiss and looked at me teasingly. Mein took that brief moment to catch her breath.

"I'm doing that right now." My eyes widened in realization. I understood everything way too late. "You went very far to defend this girl, so you must love her a lot." Why does everything go wrong?! "I'm going to steal her from you."

If I hadn't gone so far trying to distract her, then she wouldn't get that idea. Shit, is that why Mein looked at me so fearfully? She knew I was going to act stupid. How was I supposed to know?

Is this the price... for killing Stylish?

"That's not it! I... I...!" What do I say?! What do I do?!

The only thing we can do is wait. Whoever comes to save us, is going to have to find another way. The entrance to this place is demolished. The elevator I used to come into this level is destroyed, and the entrance in the superior level is blocked off by monsters and a big fall.

"You what? What are you going to do? You should be grateful really. I'm putting a show just for you and this is how you treat me." Show...?

"Shut up! Don't you dare touch her!" I'm going to kill her.

I'll kill her. If she does anything else, I'll kill her.

"Ohh... What do you think pinky?" Whatever she was expecting Mein to say, it definitely wasn't that.

"...You taste like shit." Mein can defend herself too. In some way. Pretty sure that's a very bad thing to say though.

I couldn't do anything as the alchemist slapped her as punishment.

"Oh, don't tell me... That was your first kiss?" The lack of an answer pretty much confirmed it. "Well, let's confirm this too."

I averted my eyes when I saw her hand going under her dress. I heard a small yelp, but I tried to not think much about it.

I have to face the problem somehow but... If I could just smash a rock against her head, it could be pretty good. But I don't have the strength to lift one up, much less doing it stealthy. Shit... If I could just make her focus on me instead of her, I could save Mein from the trouble.

"Even with one finger its tight!" Why does she have to talk?! "Don't you want to help her? It must have hurt for her." Doing that hurts...? Damn lack of knowledge. Don't think about it.

I started to drag myself slowly. I'll try to be unnoticed but... It doesn't matter. I don't care if I'm not strong enough to lift a stupid pebble, but it will be better than just laying here.

"You're not even looking... Aren't you curious?" Dorothea said in a way too calmed tone.

"D-Don't look!" Mein's weak complain made me feel even worse.

I'm sorry. You'll have to endure it a bit more.

"I'm not curious. In fact, you can go fuck yourself." I didn't think I had it in me to say those words.

"What an aggressive boy. Men want to have sex all the time, you should be more honest with yourself." She said as if stating a fact.

That's just bullshit. Even if I'd like to have sex, it doesn't mean I'd do it with anyone. Much less forced by a psychotic bitch. That's like saying that all men are rapists or something like that.

Wait, if I can maintain her talking then... I could buy some extra time. I'm desperate here...!

"Oh my god, you're blond! That means you're stupid, right?!" I said faking surprise. "That would explain how idiotic everything you say sounds." And I probably shouldn't have continued.

I couldn't tell if she was offended or even taken aback by my words. She didn't even change expression. Well... Now that I'm on a spree. I guess I should hold into this small chance.

"M-e, gooood. Yo-u baaad?" She doesn't seem to understand me. "Goo goo gah gah?" I think baby talk will be more than enough to make her understand me.

"You've really lost it. Did killing your own friend scar you for life?"

I felt how all the strange confidence I had built inside me vanished like without trace. Replacing that feeling, what appeared inside of me was... Anger.

"Bull's-eye, right? She was a pretty cute girl, until you know, dismembering her. I didn't have much hope because of that... but I bet you did. You must have thought that you could save her until the very end." She released Mein, and headed towards me in two steps.

"...I'll kill you. You'll be dead soon...!" Those words were the only ones that left my mouth.

Similar to Mein, she caressed me as if I was an animal. However, the moment she got up, she stomped my back making my whole skeleton shiver. I felt her heel almost breaking into my heart but luckily it didn't pierce my skin.

"I won't die anytime soon."She flipped her hair before moving her feet. "You should trust me, after all, alchemists don't lie."

My body had fallen into the worst state possible. I couldn't even lift a finger, but still, s_till_, I couldn't fall unconscious. If I do then... then... what happens?

"Your friend's really annoying. I wanted to play with him too, but it seems it's just a girl party."

My vision is starting to get a bit fuzzy... I can't hear clearly... This is bad... The injuries I have won't kill me, but this place is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by snow. I'll die of hypothermia if nobody comes. And if I lose Mein... Akame won't save me. She's the only one that appreciates me at least a bit...

"Are you starting to feel good? You shouldn't conceal your voice."

She's... my last friend.

She's the last person who knows the original me.

I already made the promise of not losing anyone again, no matter in what way. And right now, she's getting...

"...It doesn't feel good." Don't stop fighting, please...

"Well, it's just the beginning."

Shit... not again. It's my fault again, right.

_"How's it going?" _I saw a vivid image of Seryu sitting in top of a rock, probably another hallucination of my messed up head.

"You're not her..." I murmured. I tried to drag myself, but it was useless.

_"You should stop and rest a bit. It's not like she's going to die." _

"Shut up... Get out of my head." I insisted again.

_"Isn't she from Night Raid? Why should we care?" _Seryu doesn't act like that, right?

"Because... justice is blind." Am I really having this conversation in this moment?

"See? At least you don't taste like rotten sushi." Damn it...

_"I guess you're right..." _She disappeared, just to appear beside me. "_It looks like she's tolerating her pretty well. Take a small break, and after a few moments... POOM! Right in the nose."_

... Why does she act differently than the real Seryu...?

But... if I rest for a moment, my strength might return for a bit. My beating isn't unusual, I can breathe normally but my body is tired. She hasn't really done any permanent damage anyways, so I should be fine if I just rest for a moment...

It's so wrong though... Being unable to do anything while this is happening.

"Gee, you're not fun at all. Not even a funny face or sound... I haven't found your spot yet..."

She's still going?! Shit, I don't care how much she can endure, her mind sure won't hold up like that.

I don't know her. We aren't friends. We just meet each other sometimes, and didn't talk that much. I'm not doing this because I love her or even like her. But I just want her to tell me a gentle word, show me a kind look and a good-natured smile. And if this keeps up...!

"See? You're already wet! You're blushing like crazy too... Why don't you admit it? You'll enjoy it more."

_"Oh? I kinda want to see her break. Besides we have to rest for a moment." _

"Shut the fuck up!"

My breath stopped. I didn't feel my body and my time awareness was seriously moving back and forth. Perhaps it was the hypothermia kicking in. Everything is cold.

This is what my body is telling me. _Last chance._

I don't need to control the wind, or let it play with me. There are no separate entities at this moment, because we had the same trail of thought.

There wasn't much of a distance between us, but she was behind Mein and that was... Stop it. It's pretty easy.

I twirled around and easily got up from the ground. My mind wondered for a second how I had done this so easily, but that wasn't top priority.

"My god, you're still awake." She sounded genuinely irritated, but just from... eh... doing those things.

_"Fingering."_

"Shut up!" Who the hell is this person in Seryu's disguise?! Waved my hand in front of me, trying to disperse the hallucination.

I said that out loud, didn't I?I guess that's why she released Mein without a warning.

Before I knew it I had already tried to sucker punch her, but she blocked me sloppily. I tried to jab her with my remaining hand without too much of a success.

Seeing that I was still pretty weak, I did the only thing I could.

I tackled her, trying to put a distance between her and Mein. And as you can guess with the strength difference, everything went downhill from here. The only way is to get her in some kind of headlock, but I wasn't taught that far.

I unsuccessfully tried to pin her down, but she just reversed my move without too much of a problem. This was looking pretty grim for me, but I'm already a broken mess. What's the wors- Don't say that.

She put her weight on me, and held tight my arms. I tried to do break free using my legs, but the outcome was the same. Me being trapped by her.

But this is good. I can't use my arms or legs, but neither can she. There's still the problem of that teigu, but if she ever tries to approach me, I swear to god I'm going to headbutt her until I die.

Or so I thought until she released one of my arms and stuck her finger on my mouth. I don't why the hell she did this, but I just grabbed whatever was at my side and tried to smash her head with said object.

And I fell into despair as she freaking broke the rock I had grabbed. I tried to attack her once again, just to being pin down again.

"How did that taste like?" She was awfully close to me, and I must say I don't like it.

"...Taste what?" Her finger? It tasted like nothing really. Why would she... Oh.

"I harvested her virgin soil for nothing? You're both a disappointment." ...So i just tasted Mein... ? I'm not sure how I should react. It was a bit salty tho-

"...I'll rip your throat out." That seems about right.

"My, so violent. Your blood is very good though." Her lustful glare gave me chills, and with her grip I can't move. Besides, her waist is in a position that I don't li-

Oh no, no, no. Body , I know we aren't in touch. I just move some muscles and that's it. And I know I pushed you waaay beyond your limits. But please, for the love of whatever god is popular these days, do NOT get an erection. I'll remind you that we've been beaten up, and it's not time to do that right now! You do that in the worst moments possible, so if you are able to postpone that, I'll be very grateful.

...

FUCK YOU BODY!

Please, don't notice it, don't notice it...!

"I noticed." FUCK YOU. "You started to get nervous all of a sudden, and on top of all that, I can feel you pushing against me." Her smile told me already what was going to happen.

WHY DOES THIS SHIT KEEP HAPPENING TO ME?!

I can't control it, you know! barely use that thing! The only thing it does is making even more awkward every time I sleep with Esdese, and that's not good!

Think peaceful thoughts...! You're running through serene meadow... With a flock of all happy dogs and cats...

As if realizing my own inner struggle, she pushed down her waist onto mine. Even with clothes on, her hips just forced me into pleasure.

H-Happy dogs and cats...! Think about them...!

"You're much easier than the girl. I barely moved and you have already such a miserable face." Fucking bitch...

"That just caught me... off guard."

T-That's right. But... I really don't know what to do. As long as she doesn't pull my zipped down I'll be fine. I mean, I have clothes! Surely that will reduce the amount of... pleasure...

"It feels good to me too." I don't want to know that. "Don't you want to feel even better?"

Ehh... I'm fairly sure that I can control myself pretty good, thanks.

"You just tried to kill me five minutes ago. I don't think I'm so stupid to say yes." What kind of idiot would say yes in this situation anyways? Whatever I do, I'm fairly sure that I'll end up dead.

I feebly struggle to buy my senses more time, but it just seemed my body didn't feel like it. I'm so powerless, it's not even funny.

"It seems happy time is over. We'll have fun some other time." Eh?

Before she could do anything else, I heard it. I barely missed that small sound, but I certainly had detected it.

"Ah, shit."

A mixture of frustration and gratification filled my body as I saw those red eyes protecting me once again. I couldn't see any emotion, but she was surely more serious than those other times I saw her.

At first I thought the alchemist would stay and fight, but even Akame seemed more of a match for her. She started running away, with Akame following shortly after.

Shouldn't it have more priority saving your partner...? Ah never mind.

Not much later, another figure entered the battlefield. I don't have a good experience with blond girls, but I guess that those cat ears meant that she was on our side. I think she's the one who kicked me that one time in... the Red District.

She effortlessly removed the debris that covered Mein's leg and scooped her out, clearly worried of her state. Whatever it was, she looked at me for a brief moment before jumping away.

Are they just going to leave me here...? I can't move...

How will I leave then? I'm broken, and I have to return to the capital tomorrow. If I lose more time, Esdese is going to suspect me and then... teaming up with Night Raid would be a bad choice. But there aren't any witnesses. That's it. Akame will kill that girl. Surely... And even if she doesn't, what are the odds?

I felt air in my face. My body was shaking for some reason and... How am I flying?

I didn't know what it was, but I felt tired. I think they decided to save me... but I'll just rest for a moment...

I think... I'll forget what just happened...

Nothing happened...

Nothing...

Nothing...

Nothing...

* * *

Cold... Ah right... It was snowing and I lost my coat. This is going to suck...

"So he doesn't have Incursio...?" I heard a voice rather close. "Strange... I'm sure I saw it when he fought the Jaegers."

The voice had echo, as if we were in a closed space. I fought the...? Ah yes... Wait, why would they be watching?

"Mm... Maybe he didn't know what it was..." A voice almost like a whisper answered. Mein...?

Are they talking about... that sword? Then that teigu's name is... Incursio? At least I wasn't crazy with that feeling. I still don't know what it does though.

"Are you sure you're okay? What happened in there anyways?" Whoever this person was, it was obvious she cared for Mein.

But... that was a very bad subject to talk about...

I groaned in pain as I tried to move my shoulder. That bitch... Gosh, I've never said so many curses before, but she and that doctor deserve it!

I opened my eyes and blinked a few times to adjust them to the dim light. It was pretty cold in here... Wait, this isn't Stylish's lab. This looks like a cave.

Scratch that. This is a cave. It's still snowing outside, and the light is slowing fading. How long have I been out? Not much...

"You're awake, Spooky Captain?" I looked over to the blond girl with cat ears. And it's that a tail...? Is she a teigu user, or just another experiment.

What's with that nickname...?!

"Don't know..." My throat was dry. Every articulation and muscle hurt like hell.

"You should be a bit more grateful. I did come back to get you kiddo." I don't like blond girls.

"Maybe you should have come sooner." I muttered while leaning against the wall a bit better. The cold is pretty bad, and I have a jacket. Mein must be freezing too.

The woman didn't seem to like me either. Whatever she was going to say, she was cut off by Mein.

"Can you go find Pumpkin?" Right, we lost that in the rubble.

If I had been stronger, then nothing would have happened to us. The reason she's like this... it's my fault. If only I'd stayed back and fought alongside her instead of killing Stylish, the outcome would have been different.

"...Alright." She answered worried, but left cave in search for the Teigu.

Just as she left, I realized that there was another person in the cave.

Akame was gathering very small sticks for some reason. They were all damp, so she shouldn't be trying to make a fire. Maybe she's bored, or just thinking. She must know, or at least deduce what happened.

"Sorry. It's my fault this happened." I inspected my wound with my hand while saying those words. I couldn't really see it, but if I don't treat it it's going to get infected. I need a shower... I'm going to get sick either way.

"It's alright." That response told me that it wasn't alright. "Let's just not talk about that."

I didn't say anything else. Akame looked at both of us, before looking at the pile of sticks again.

Was all of this worth it? I lost my sword. I lost my handgun. I lost my sanity for a moment. Pretty sure my heart is broken. Almost got raped. My friend was almost raped in front of me. BUT I killed Stylish.

I think... it wasn't worth it. At least... I know that Seryu won't be used again... She can rest now, right?

* * *

"Where is it..."

After getting back in the complex and reaching the destroyed area where Mein fought, Leone started to search for Pumpkin. That thing couldn't have gone really far.

With her enhanced senses, she should be able to find Mein's scent in the teigu. However, the only thing she could smell was the putrid smell of rotten flesh. Wherever that stink was coming from, it was terrible.

"Bingo!"

She broke through some debris and found the gun-teigu almost intact. A bit dusty, but it was mostly fine.

Now the hard part would be to find Stylish. If he's still alive of course. His teigu, Perfector, would be a good asset for the Revolution. It wasn't the best teigu, but a scientist might find it useful.

Looking around, it seemed that the entrance had collapsed along with the ceiling. She could always go up and try to find a way, but... She wanted to see what was making that putrid odour.

"It also smells like..." She looked around for a moment before shaking her head. That... couldn't be right.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she headed towards a demolished wall at her side where the smell was at its strongest. Maybe it lead to some underground passage or... a garbage dump. Either way, it was very unpleasant.

She started to hear a faint noise, as if somebody was crying not too far away.

Fearing that it could be a trap, she left Pumpkin aside to fight more effectively. It could always be a wild animal, but you never know. Syura left randomly, so he could be around.

She readied herself as she saw some clothes on the ground, as if that person fell to the ground randomly. But, to a closer look... it seemed that they were stained in some strange goo. Apparently, this liquid was the cause of the foul smell.

"...?"

Whatever this liquid was, she recognized those gloves instantly. Were these Stylish's clothes...? Did he just randomly melted or what...? The goo didn't look to be sticking itself on the clothes or the teigu, but it was unnerving. Just what happened here...?

Suddenly, her sixth sense kicked in and she took some steps back. However, it wasn't quite what she was expecting.

A poor girl, not more than eight years old was crying her heart out for no explicably reason. It was something she didn't really expect, but then again, Stylish was known for picking prisoners and homeless people. The poor girl probably doesn't even know why she's here.

She was sitting on the ground hugging her knees, as if she had lost somebody loved. Or perhaps she was just cold, as she didn't really have any clothes.

Fearing the worst for the innocent girl, Leone cleared the lab coat and slowly put it around the lonely child. Did she even notice her...?

In any case, she couldn't leave her here. She was probably a victim too.

"It's alright..." She hugged the small girl who gladly accepted her and started to cuddle her. She was probably very scared.

They stood there for a minute, before the girl calmed down. She was rather warm, for being in such a cold place.

"Is there someone else here?" Leone started saying while grabbing theglove-teigu, part of their original objectives. Dealing with Stylish and acquire or destroy his teigu.

"..." There wasn't an audible answer, but she shook her head. Can't she talk or...?

Not really wanting to push her a lot, she lifted her and started to walk away. Back in the capital, she used to play a lot with the orphan children, so she was already a professional treating them.

She barely weighted anything too... perhaps it was just because she still had her teigu activated. Probably.

"Can't forget this." She grabbed Pumpkin and swiftly headed to the exit, careful not to harm her passenger. Whatever the reason was, the girl stared at the gun teigu with mistrust. Then again, she was crying barely a minute ago.

Not too much later, they reached the entrance but it didn't look too appealing for such a small girl. She only had a coat to cover her, and it was snowing. Maybe she could wait a bit, but the night was already falling.

"Oh? Susanoo!" She waved over to the blue haired man who was walking down towards the foot of the mountain. Probably by Akame's orders.

The tall man stopped mid-step and turned around as if nothing happened. He reached her position shortly after.

"How did it go? Piece of cake for you, right?" She was referring to his fight against several high ranked monster which Stylish had locked up.

"I did not eat them." He answered abruptly.

"N-No I meant... Ah nothing. Here, could you bring this to Mein? I'll try to get this youngster to the nearest city."

Strangely enough, Susanoo didn't react to the order.

"...Su?" He was staring directly at the girl, who just hugged her like nothing.

"That. It is not a human." He finally opened his mouth.

"Don't refer to her as it. That's just rude." She argued back, clearly protecting the young child.

"I am not a human. Neither is... she." It some seconds t realize what he was saying.

"She's a teigu?" Leone looked over skeptically at the girl who was hugging her without a care in the world, as if already forgot what she was doing there. "But she looks..."

Even Susanoo looked a bit more different than a regular human with those horns. But it could be said that apart from that, he was normal. Aside from that, she had never heard of another organic teigu besides hell-dog and Su.

"Are you a teigu, little one?" Both of them looked at each other, but there wasn't an answer. Maybe that's why she didn't talk.

"Then... can you talk to her? I don't even know if she understands me." Rather awkwardly, Susanoo lifted the girl even higher than Leone, and just looked at her as if trying to concentrate really hard.

"Well... Make sure she doesn't freeze over." She looked at Pumpkin and started to walk away.

Wait, it was Susanoo who was supposed to bring the teigu not her!

* * *

"What are you doing?" I looked over to Akame, who filled the void that separated both Mein and me.

I was too tired to care, honestly.

Akame removed her coat and covered the naked legs of Mein. I completely forgot that she was still human. As scary as she can be, she still must have a heart. Kinda like her sister. Although that girl teases Wave way too much... Why do I even know that?

At any rate... I'm still freezing over here. I would complain, but I don't really have a friend that would give me a coat.

"Warming." Yeah I can see that. Could you at least show some emotion...?

"I was fine, you know...?" Mein complained weakly, although way more energetic than with me.

"...Just watch out for hypothermia." I randomly said, trying to get a bit in the conversation.

...

...Come on, say something... It's not like I'm a demon. I guess I should be more considerate.

And I think I'm dying a bit.

I looked outside for a moment. The snow was still falling, as well as the sun. If we got stuck here, we'd surely die of cold. And I'm sure that at least Akame knows that.

"Look... eh... my village isn't too far away from here." Yeah tell more people where you lived. Wonderful idea... "If you want, you could stay to warm up for a bit and then go. Nobody knows of Night Raid, so it should be fine." Nobody leaves to the nearest city anymore. We can't really afford it.

My voice echoed for a brief moment, and was then proceeded by silence.

So this is how my decline goes...

I'm not upset! I guess the only way people listen to me is because I have a stupid rank in a stupid army in a stupid Empire ruled by stupid people. I look around and I see just stupid! Then "Ohh why have you killed the commander?" because he was the epitome of stupid trying to fool _me _of all people. Followed by all the people complaining about coffee and ended by those question of "Is this green? Or yellow mixed with blue?" I DON'T CARE! I JUST GOT FUCKING VIOLATED.

"Will there be food?" That's a good priority, Akame.

"Eh... I don't know if we fixed the shortage of food. Only you two are coming or does beast girl tag along?" If she comes, I guess I could spare my ration... I'll just hope they don't eat more than Sayo and Ieyasu.

...Why do I feel like somebody is laughing in the distance?

"So, that's how you describe your savior?"That sudden goosebump just made me realize that I screwed up. Once again. I just _can't _get enough...

"Save is a very ambiguous word these days." I answered while looking at the device she was carrying. So she did find Pumpkin.

"You know, you're losing way too many points right now. Wanna know what happens when you reach negative points?" She handed over the teigu to Mein, apparently not really caring that she was threatening me.

I really should just have shut my mouth right here. However, I've through a lot of shit today. Not only I've seen my best friend being turned into a monster and then slowly disappear in front of me, I've been almost drained to death, I've seen another friend violated and the same happened to me. So not good sir, I'm not what you'd consider in a good mental state.

"I thought Night Raid didn't pick on weak people. Guess I was wrong." An illusion of heat appeared in my chest, even if I was still pretty cold.

"Weak doesn't mean innocent." She answered almost immediately.

"You're not innocent either and you don't see me trying to kill you." At least not yet.

"Really? I think you have more than enough reasons to kill us." I felt the killing intent raise dramatically for a second.

Even if they know about Seryu... I haven't made any moves against them yet. There must be another reason. What reason is that, I'll probably never know.

"Sorry to burst your bubble but if I really wanted to kill all of you, I'm sure you'd already know." If glares could kill, we could have died right here and now.

"Tatsumi! That's enough. You two are giving me a headache!" Mein suddenly snapped, clearly contrasting from her behaviour since...

"I'm sorry..." I leaned against the wall again and fell down with a blunt sound. I looked at a specific spot of the ground before covering myself both in cold and sadness.

...You blame, is that it? It's my fault, that's what you're saying? I didn't want it to turn like this! I was so focused into my own selfish desires that I...! I'm sorry!

Sorry!

It's my fault, isn't it?!

Sorry!

I did everything I could!

Sorry!

Worthless, worthless, that's what I am.

Sorry!

Everyone who surrounds me suffers so...

I just... I just...! I have to... No... I don't have to. After all I just...

I just can't keep up.

This is... too much for me. I can't take it anymore.

I give up.

I'm done.

Game over.

My life is miserable. The world won't let me be happy. I can fight against it. I've tried hard. Even when Sayo and Ieyasu died, I tried to fight. I tried to fight against those thoughts that told me to give up.

When Seryu died I just... I don't know how was I able to keep moving. I started to eat less every day, and to train even more. Perhaps I even became weaker.

I tried to fight the Jaegers and failed. I threw down my ideals and bowed down to a person whose intentions aren't too clear. Hell, I even was pretty calmed when I avoided anyone.

But no, I just had to be stupid. If I just had ignored Mein, I would have just killed Stylish and leave. And then... And then we just got played over like some soulless dolls.

I am not... strong. I don't have a teigu to help. I've killed so many people and don't even care. I rejoiced in happiness when I heard that Ogre died, even if Seryu cried all night. And there's people that think of me as a good leader? Don't make me laugh. I am a walking lie. I lie to myself, and I lie to others.

My salvation is... just to sleep and have a happy dream.

My salvation is... to join everyone.

My salvation is...

"Mein." I didn't react as I heard the voice. "Stay here while I talk with Leone."

"Mm."

Neither of us talked. It wasn't necessary and I'm sure both of us just want to be alone. There wasn't anything to talk about.

Whoever I am now... I'm not certain who I am anymore.

Am I Tatsumi? Am I the same boy who even if angry with the world, could still smile and be happy? Or did that person die along with Seryu? I don't want to know the answer. I don't want to think anymore.

The only person who knows the real me and is still alive... is this person right here. And right now, Mein doesn't...

"...Can you still shoot that thing?" I couldn't even see the teigu, but it should be around that part.

She's probably wondering what the hell I'm asking. Did she answered or am I deaf?

"Shoot me." She tilted her head questioning my words.

"What?" So I wasn't deaf...

"Kill me." I repeated, choosing other words.

"What? A-Are you serious?! Why?!" I certainly didn't expect such a expressive reaction from her, but she sounds like she doesn't believe me.

"I feel certain that I am going mad day by day. I begin to hear voices and I can't concentrate. I have no family or friends left, all dead because of my mistakes. Every day I live in fear of being killed by the same person that sleeps in my room. Even the last wish of Ieyasu can't keep me going anymore. So... I want you to keep his wish alive." I couldn't bring my head to face her.

"..."

"I should... probably tell you that I seriously thought of killing you when I found you wounded that night. I'm glad I was still a normal person back then. Besides... I kind of like you. Make sure that remember that Tatsumi though. I'm just a husk."

Ah... forcing her to kill me... Selfish to the very end. If I'm going to die, might as well do it myself. How would she remember me when she blows my brains off?

I just have to tell her Ieyasu's wish and...

"Are you feeling so bad that you're thinking about suicide?" The question caught me off guard, but I answered.

"...Yes." I suddenly noticed that she was looking at me, concerned. Why was she... worried?

"I can't really understand but... I can... offer you my compassion." She shortened the distance that separated us, and got cozy next to me. What am I supposed to feel?

Why isn't he saying anything else? I've never seen her acting like this... She hasn't said anything mean or even raised her voice. But... she hates me, right? Then why is she here...?

"...You don't need to do anything, you know? I'll just go somewhere silent." I tried to get up, but she didn't let me.

"You said... that you didn't have any friends, but I'm still here." Mein, my friend?

"We just met some times in a span of years. I don't think we have the same definition of friend."

"Alright then. What would it take to be your friend?" Not even a stutter or a you're an idiot?

"...Why are you acting like this? You aren't acting so... tsundere." My words affected her in some way, but if she was angry or annoyed she didn't show it too well.

"Because I..." What's the long pause for? "I care about you."

...

...I really want to say she doesn't mean it. But I can't deny it. I thought we were friends actually... however, she denied it an hour ago. I can't understand this girl...

"Really...?"

Even if... she cares about me... that doesn't deny the fact that I'm still worthless.

"The world is still heading for tomorrow so... don't lose hope. It will be a new day."

...

I've already tried that. Even if I thought like that too... why is it different when she says it? Why is someone like her caring for me? I don't understand. Is it out of pity? But she says it so genuine...

"My sister told me not to cry anymore... making me break that oath..." I guess that someday it was going to explode...

Crying in front of a girl... this oddly reminiscent. This is fine... but I feel like something's missing...

"C-Could I get a hug?" Just a small one...

"A-Alright, just because you asked!" Thank you. I guess you need one too.

It's different from hugging Seryu, even the emotion is a bit different. In any case, I shed some tears, sobbed a bit and even if I felt slightly better... I'm not healed.

If I continue being with her... then more tragedies will occur. I even considered joining Night Raid just to not be alone... but I'll manage.

Besides... what happened to Mein... Dorothea is going to pay. I cannot leave this world knowing that someone so awful is around. But to find her, I'll have to use my position in the army and that means dealing with Esdese.

I'll live for you too...

"Your heart is beating fast." She said breaking the hug.

"Y-Yeah? How about yours, huh? Can I heart it too?" I didn't mean to make that pun but alright.

"No. Pervert."

...What...?

* * *

**Well... That happened. I honestly don't expect any reviews in this chapter. Any good one I mean.**

**Seeing the deep waters I was getting in, I actually asked one of my friends to read the original chapter. He said that I'd end up hung up in a tree if I ever released that, so I had to rewrite 2/3 of the chapter again. And I'm still nervous... Because I know how the internet is very bipolar.**

**So.. uh... Not really sure what to say. It was definitely a challenge, and I liked that part. If it's of any consolation, happier times are coming. When this arc finished...**

**Next chapter is going to be tender hearted, so be glad. I am at least.**

**Well, this is awkward now. Next chapter is going to be pretty soon, as I wrote most part while feeling in conflict with this chapter.**

**Losing all fans in three... two... one...**

**Alright, whoever is still reading this, it means you're still in some kind of interest in this story. And for that, Thanks!**

**This time I'll make sure to answer every review, because it's been a very distressing week. I'll probably add those random stories I promised in short chapters, or in a whole independent chapter as a back up.**

**Heh... I kind of messed up with the chapter name this time. It was just **_**soooo **_**much appropriate. I'm not too sure about next chapter's name, but it surely will be symbolic. Like phoenix or some cliché name.**

**In any case... Not many people read these notes lel. Thank you for reading until this point. Arriba, abajo, izquierda y B!**


	16. Princess of Red Roses

**It's Pinky and the Brain! It's Pinky and the Brain! One is a genius, the other's insane!**

**By the way, symbolic title.**

* * *

**Enslaved Soldier Arc**

_**Princess of Red Roses**_

* * *

_I'm the princess of red roses, I want you to make me yours tenderly__  
__I gently whisper and avert my eyes shamefully__  
__You're the knight of the white moon, the hand I felt is still warm__  
__Don't let go and hold me tight__  
__I call this miracle love_

* * *

Alright... Tatsumi, please. Calm down, and forget everything that happened. Try to be normal.

"So catgirl doesn't come?" I said looking at the tired mare. It's probably cold for her too.

"No." That answer was too quick even for Akame. What is that woman doing...? Did she find something interesting down there? I could care less. I think I hate her.

My glare wandered off to Mein who caressed the animal a bit scared, as if not knowing what the outcome would be. Thinking about your own things, huh... Even if I don't want to, I have to stay away from her, for her own good.

I care too much about the others so I always think that it's my fault. That would be right if it wasn't my fault. Everything that has happened around me... was because I am incompetent.

"It's not that far away... five minutes max. So just enjoy the scarce views and the lack of sunlight. Because it's not getting better." Just trees everywhere and then my village... which is not that better.

I handed over the reins to Akame, but she stared at them like they were a penguin in the middle of the desert.

"You ride it."Are we having this conversation now?

"I won't allow you to walk all the way. You must be tired too." This is just useless, right?

"I'm hungry." Well wasn't that unexpected. "I'll eat it." Why does she say it with such a serious glare?! S-She can't possibly be thinking of eating this gentle horse!

"W-Well, it's my horse after all. So it's just normal I ride it." I looked over to Mein. "Then hop on."

"That's what you want..." I want what?

"Eh...? But in the cave you were the on-"

"I didn't do anything! I was being nice!" That was unexpected. She was the one who got all cozy with me!

"We all know that it's such a rare trait in you..." I muttered.

She nudged me but also followed my steps and got behind me.

The already weak horse didn't seem to feel the weight of the petite girl behind me, but I didn't want to overwork her. It's been a rough day for her, and she barely got an hour of rest. At least she's going to have a nice rest today.

Silence filled the next minutes. I didn't dare to open my mouth, and neither did the girls. It was normal for Akame, I guess. But Mein is grabbing my shirt like it's the only thing in the world. She's going to break it... Has she never ridden a horse or what the hell?

I quietly stared at Akame, as I felt that I had to repay her in some way. She's already saved me two times so... I have to give her some favors. I'd like to be trained by her too, but since... we're not allies I can't really do that.

Hm... Something that she'd like...

That's it! I'll make her smile! I'm not sure how I'll do it, but she must have a very cute smile.

Am I a creep for thinking these things...?

"Erm... Akame." I made sure she was listening to me. "I owe you a lot of things. So... um... I want to repay it in some way. What is something you'd like?"

I felt Mein swaying on my back, as if she was going to fall off.

"Hey, I'm going slow for you! So if you're scared just cling to me. Creates more of an atmosphere." I teased her.

"Shut up." She uttered.

"But in the cave you d-"

"I'm perfectly fine! I just... felt dizzy." ...Right.

I made sure she was still on, and looked back at Akame.

"You don't need to do anything." Aw... But I have to!

"Really? Then..." I pondered about what I could do to her, but she's just cryptic for me. I don't know her at all. "How about some information about the Palace? It will be a tough nut to crack even for Night Raid. Some info should be good, rigth?"

"There's no need." That answer left me even more confused. Does she even have emotions? Maybe she's a robot. They must have already information then...

Do I tell her about her sister? No, I can't. They must be enemies so telling her that will just hurt her. I don't have an answer for why they're fighting, but me being insensitive won't help.

"Well, if you feel there's something only I can do, ask and you shall receive. To a certain point..." Unless I have to kill teigu users. I suck at killing them. Replace killing for fighting and fighting for staying conscious.

My hands were growing exponentially cold, although my back was pretty warm. I'll have to thank Mein for that... But she'd just argue me back with some insult. She was way more docile back then... I guess I scared her a bit. She also had a rough time back there, even worse than me. I even tasted h- Don't think about that...

The sun had already disappeared behind the mountains, and its light with it. However, I already recognized the terrain. If I'm correct, the main road to my village should be right around here.

Should have talked sooner.

I call it road, but it's only a dirt track formed from walking a lot. It's definitely nostalgic, but this only brings me melancholy from those happy times. Glassy sky, huh...

I noticed the light at the end, probably from the first houses of the village. I hope I'm not too messed up... Let's see... blood in shirt? Check. No weapon? Check. Girls? Check. Fake smile? Check!

Oh! I should put my Captain insignia on... Where is it... Here!

And all done. Now I only look like a bandit that has stolen this badge from a real Captain! Sweet!

"Let me do the talking." I sighed deeply and tried to regain a fresh look. I hope that the dim light will make me look a bit better than what I am.

I feel the nervousness getting the best of me, but this isn't the best moment to do that. I just want to sleep... Erase everything that happened today and start again. Nobody else will know what I did to Stylish, what happened to Seryu or what happened against that alchemist.

"Oh? If it isn't Tatsumi! What a pleasant surprise!" I didn't realize that we had already entered the small village.

Some neighbors had apparently heard our steps and were already greeting me. I don't know what they are thinking about Akame and Mein, but since they're with me I guess they don't mind.

"Good day! Or night... You shouldn't be stepping outside in this cold!" I greeted the old lady back. She is always nice to everyone...

I greeted more people, but in a village with only 25 residents it wouldn't last long. I'm only searching for the elder, after all.

I checked if Akame and Mein weren't acting strange at the sudden act of politeness. I'd never thought that the village elder's house being in the center would benefited me in some way.

I tried to dismount the horse, but Mein didn't really let me. You'll give everyone the wrong ideas...!

"Tatsumi? It's nice to see that you haven't forgotten about your roots." I immediately recognized the old man with grey beard, way more longer than last time.

"As if I could... Did the money I sent help in any way?" I quickly said. I don't want to stay out here too much but...

"Of course it did. Taxes aren't our concern anymore, we just have to worry about winter and about you three. Did Ieyasu and Sayo have other deeds?" I lowered my gaze for a moment before answering.

"Yes, that's it. I recently got promoted so we don't do missions together... But we are still one!" I lied, trying to sound natural. If he ever noticed, he must have thought something else.

"I see... And who are these young ladies? Your partners?" If you already know why do you ask? Oh yeah, lies.

"Yes... we had a mission nearby and we ran into some problems. So I thought of staying here for tonight. It... won't be a problem, right?" I looked at both of them briefly, before facing him again.

"This village is and will always be your home. Besides, you saved us. Why would I say no?" He chuckled as he approached me.

I clumsily dismounted the horse, with Mein short following me.

"Well, I don't know... It felt wrong if I didn't ask first." I replied, not really knowing why I asked.

"That's the Tatsumi I know!" He said as he patted my shoulder. Right in the wound! "You three must be hungry after a long trip. Let's get you something to eat, shall we?"

I saw Akame's eyes sparkle for a brief moment. She just came here for the food...

"N-No, I can cook them something." I don't need him involved with Night Raid, even if that moment will never happen. "You know, being nice with them." I whispered, trying to convince him to let me alone with them.

Well, that sounded way more flirty than it needed to be.

"I always thought you liked Sayo." Don't say it out loud!

What a way to get stabbed by an invisible dagger... That hurt way more than it should.

"I-I need ingredients first, so uh..." I quickly interfered before he could say something else.

This is the plan. Go to my house, gather ingredients, cook them something, go to sleep and I should probably bandage myself. I won't be able to sleep and I think I'm sick... What a good combination. I feel like I'm forgetting something... maybe I could give Mein some of Sayo's clothes but... that feels a bit wrong...

Which reminds me...

"AH! You don't have any shoes, why did you dismount?!" I turned around 180 degrees way too quickly for my head. That hurts...

"Force of habit! You were the one who lost them!" Oh come on!

"But in the cave yo-" Alright, this one was on purpose. Not my fault though, she just laid the perfect comeback in front of me.

"Stop with the cave! Nothing happened! Nothing at all!" What's with the blush anyways...

I'd offer myself to carry her, but as I am now it might be stupid. Well, she barely weighs anything. I guess she did help me a bit back there so... I have to return the favor. It seems like my life is holding up just because of favors...

"I'll carry you. It's the least I can do." I turned around and pointed at my back. If I have to carry her bridal style, that'd just bring me more unnecessary attention.

"...Fine, but I'm doing this for myself." Well, of course it's for you dumb-dumb. Huh... I guess my profanity levels just descended a lot.

She tapped my back for a moment before literally jumping on me. That was way too sudden! What're you doing kamikaze?!

She weighs more than before... my back is telling me to throw her away but! I have to be a gentleman now, even if I'm a decrepit bastard! Or I'll try to kill myself. Again.

That turned dark quickly.

"I'll bring you some food then." The village elder said, apparently having enough of watching me play around.

"I'll help." Akame interfered way too quickly. Please don't kill him. Please don't eat our food. I'm hungry too, you know?!

"What a nice young girl. May I ask your name?" Why is he so nice to people...

"...Akira?" She said a bit unsure for whatever reason. Why is saying a fake name? Nobody knows her here. Besides, it doesn't fit her.

"Please, don't break anything." I told the red eyed girl. She slowly raised her thumb in response. She's weird.

My cooking skills aren't perfect but... maybe food will make her smile. Although to stay in that figure, she must have some kind of diet or something. She's cute too so... I shouldn't look at her that way.

Damn it, I looked! This would be gratifying if I could just forget what happened today. Now I feel just guilty.

"Stop staring at her ass and move!" Mein suddenly yelled in my ear.

Shit, I got caught. Brain, I need a good counterattack right now!

"I wasn't looking at that! I was... daydreaming." Yeah take that!

Now, start moving before she loses her legs due to freezing. Let's hope that there's still firewood... or the fireplace will be useless. Huh... too redundant.

"You helped me before so... if you want my help, ask for it." I said as I walked towards my old house.

"...What's that about?" The sudden change on her tone made me realize that she was fully aware of what I meant.

"Eh... Could you open the door for me?" Dodging the bullet, just in case. "It should be open."

She leaned over me and opened the door without too much trouble.

I think that movement just confirmed that I feel guilty whenever I feel pleasure. That's great. And that somehow makes me more aroused. That's... messed up.

...Just freaking walking in. Stop having lewd thoughts.

A strange feeling of sadness tingled my head as I entered my now old home. I felt hundreds of memories suddenly trying to get out at once, all with people that are already gone. Thinking like that just makes me want to vomit.

No, really. I think I'm about to puke. I feel the stomach acid damaging my throat and...!

"Tatsumi?" I averted a complete disaster with great effort, almost ignoring the fact that this was a very bad omen. I'm really sick...

"Just nostalgia. Come on, I'll try to warm you up."

Using one of my legs, I closed the door behind me. To my left was the kitchen, but I didn't need to go there. The bedrooms where in front of me, and a very small living room was at my right. That's where we're headed!

There wasn't a couch or anything, just some chairs and a table. I dropped her close to the fireplace and started to remember how to light this up.

Some logs... tinder, a catalyst... Wait, we have matches?

The fire started to slowly become more lively, warming everything up. That should be enough. Let me check we actually won't die suffocated though...

"I hope your fingers haven't acquired some weird color." I said as I brought a chair for her. Seeing her in the ground is just a bit sad.

"No." It looked that all her exhaustion had kicked in just as I left her on the floor. She was pretty tired too, like me. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't want to amputate them." I replied as she sat down in the chair I offered her. The last thing I'd need.

"Idiot." Thanks.

I felt the warm in the room, but my body wasn't heating up. My legs were shaking and it was taking me a lot just to stand still. I'm so tired...

I grabbed another chair and sat down beside her. I pushed my limits too much...

I coughed for a moment, and made sure that there wasn't any blood in my spit. Well, that's a plus.

"So... what do you feel when you shoot someone?" I asked, to fill the awkward silence between us.

"The recoil." Well, that's unfortunate.

"...Fair enough." I guess she just wants a bit of time to think of everything. I can't blame her though.

I think I have a fever. My head is starting to hurt...

I can't fight something that's inside me. That's up to my defenses, and those have been completely annihilated by my stupid overworking session against that blond girl. That sounds dirty. Stop it, innuendos! You're ruining my life.

...Seeing Mein without her twintails is strange, but it's not exactly bad.

Oh right. Clothes.

I have to give her some pants or something. I'm not giving her anything that belonged to Sayo, so I'll go with my own clothes. I think I left some here anyways.

"I'll bring you some clothes." I said trying to sound as normal as possible.

Just getting up from the chair was extenuating, but I have to be a good host... Normally they don't die in the middle of a visit. Even if part of me wants to end this once and for all, I am not going to die by some stupid virus, bacteria or hell if I know.

I didn't take too much time, but my body is taking all the toll. I really don't want to die in bed. Or tortured. Or getting my eyes plucked. Or by a sharp object that doesn't deliver a finishing blow and I'm left to die. Or by Esdese, which is a mix of everything mentioned.

"These are a bit worn out, but I think they'll fit you." I was going to say 'your figure' but those aren't a good choice of words.

She gave me a doubtful look before speaking.

"You cleaned them, right?" She said before touching them, as if it was an unknown object.

"What do you think I am? Of course I have." Like... some years ago. Let's just pray to the heavens and hope that if fits her.

"Turn around." She said avoiding my eyes.

"Eh... Alright?"

You are still wearing a whole dress, you know? Besides, I don't think anyone can't think badly of me if I just see your- Never mind. Just turn around...

Fighting the urge to peek, I heard the clothes moving silently as they slid across her legs.

"...It's a bit big for me..." She murmured.

I looked at her, but I could only see that the pants were too long for her.

"Well, that takes care of your footwear problem too!" Less work for me. This is a win-win situation!

Just as I said that, the pants fell to the ground.

So it was too wide, not too long.

"Good job." She mocked me with a brief chuckle. First emotion I've seen in a while! That's good. Pretty good. And my head is starting to melt in pain. That's bad.

"It's your fault for being too thin." I replied, as I started looking for a belt of some sorts.

"It's your fault for eating too much." Her slightly mischievous comment somehow pissed me off. Not too sure about those emotions...

"I only eat lighter fluid and crayons. I'm pretty sure that's what they serve us along with wet sponges." I should really eat with Esdese. But that will just tire my body more than it should.

I grabbed what looked to be a belt and after checking if it had a good condition, I faced Mein once again.

"Sounds like a good trip." I handed her the belt as I'm pretty sure she won't allow me to touch her. "Can I ask you a question?" She asked. I could see that she was in a better mood. It was still bad, but better than before.

"Sure. Ask away." I don't see why not. Oh yeah, I might throw up during the answer.

"How did you get so close to Esdese?" She finishing buckling up and looked at me seriously. Let me sit down first...

"Well... Love, I guess." I held back a laugh, as I realized that the answer was very simple.

"W-What kind of love?" There are types?!

"...Unrequited love? If you get pass all the genocide and the tortures, she is a nice person. Avoiding all that, I guess I could love her. Somehow." She gave me a weird look before returning to look at the fire.

I saw the fire dance in front of me, burning away my odd feelings on both my hands and feet. I'm surprised... I'm still alive. My head makes me think weird things, even if they're kind of right. I still have one hope.

Even if an almost impossible task, there's still a chance for my life.

A coup d'état is something I can't do alone. I'd need power, money and connections inside and outside the Palace. The chances of a partner inside the Palace are pretty grim, but outside... I have one option.

If I could get Mein involved... She wouldn't even need to leave Night Raid. I'd need her help once or maybe two times, but nothing else. And if my plan works, the Revolution shouldn't make any steps against me. This works for both parties.

But she won't accept just a random proposal... I'd need to actually have members in my own group, as well as soldiers...

If I could just make her realize the pointlessness of a civil war...

If I could show her how easy would it be to take the beast from the inside...

But, if I can't show her that then... the only other option would be... No, that's plain evil. I won't do that.

"Emm... Sorry for saying all those scary things back there. Sorry for being a burden too. I'll repay you somehow." I said from the bottom of my heart.

"...Quit apologizing. You should just stop being depressing. It's hard to believe you aren't doing it on purpose! Tomorrow the sun will rise again, no matter what happens today. So be happy."

I feel like somebody told me this.

Yeah... Seryu said something like this. Stop being so damn depressing. That's what she told me, and I've been ignoring those words all this time!

At the very least, I have to fake being happy! Or that's actually worse? Hm... Don't care. She didn't exactly told me to be happy. Wait, did she? Something about following your instincts and... Shit, I forgot.

My happiness might come from other people being happy, so let's try that!

"Then I'll have t be more positive!" I said raising my fist.

"Yeah, that!" She said a bit too happy.

First, I'll have to get rid of my own doubts, and then I can make people happy!

"So first thing I'm gonna do, it's tell Akame I love her!"

"Yes! Wait, what?!"

"Well, you know. I'm not sure if I'm just grateful or I actually love her. So might as well check it right now with a kiss!" That's right! Maybe I've been loving her all this time, but as I don't know how love actually feels, I'll have to check it!

"H-Have you gone insane?! Akame is still a girl!" Why are you getting so uppity all of a sudden?

"What about it? Oh, she's lesbian?" That certainly escalated quickly.

By every word I said, Mein just kept blushing over and over. What have I done wrong now? She told me to be happy! Seryu told me to follow my instincts!

"I-I-I could care less about that! I'm telling you she's going to murder you!" She yelled at me.

"Hm... well, I can't kiss you. I also can't kiss Esdese because she'll get the wrong ideas. I guess I'll have to try it with Wave..."

Wait, wasn't this to confirm my own emotions and not a kissing contest? Maybe I actually love Wav-

I don't want to follow my instincts! They're stupid!

She told me instincts in a battle! Not in a social conversation you dumb idiotcopter!

"Why not me? I-I mean, what's wrong with you!" Hm...

"Nothing... just a rush of hormones. Now it's going down."

I feel horrible now... Oh god... I'm dying... I'm really going to throw up. Don't cough, or everything's going to flush out of your body. Don't break the line now...!

"Tatsumi? You got pale all of a sudden." I felt her hand touching my forehead, checking my temperature. "You must have a fever..."

"Your hand is just cold. Nothing else." As if I need to make people worried...

The attention is nice though...

I'm so tired...

I want to sleep for a while.

"Hey, wake me up in... some minutes." I told her as I enjoyed the gentle dance of the fire.

"You're weird." And your hair is pink...

Everything hurts...

* * *

"AH!" I suddenly got up from the chair and almost fell into the already weak fire.

Puking! Puking! Puking!

I tried to fight a lost battle and finally threw up in the ground. Some tears rushed out of eyes with all the effort I made, mixing with whatever contents my stomach had. Which are now spilled all over the floor.

My mouth and throat is burning, but nothing can beat the disgusting feeling of all that liquid rushing throw your mouth. At least nothing got on my nose...

Shit... I have to clean up now...

My stomach was unsettled, my muscles hurt with every movement and breathing was very hard. My nose was filled with mucus and I couldn't breathe normally. It felt like my mouth wasn't enough to get air.

I'm going to die at this rate.

I sluggishly cleaned the floor with a mop, and looked around for a moment.

Did Akame and Mein leave...? That's highly disappointing. I guess that's the best I could get from Night Raid.

I don't want to eat anything... that's bad. I haven't eaten in at least a day... my body must need nutrients, but after throwing up, I don't think they'll stay there for long.

Something bad I've eaten perhaps? It's possible, because I wasn't exactly looking for something good as I travelled here. That's my fault for just wanting to fill my stomach... Maybe even all the tension I've gathered in so little time might have something to do with this.

I'll drink some water. If that stays, I'll make a tea.

I headed to the kitchen and noticed a disturbing amount of potatoes. The hell...?

In any case, I slowly took a sip of water. Vomiting makes you lose a lot of water, so I have to drink a lot.

I wondered for a second if I should be throwing up instantly or I had to wait a bit. Better safe than sorry, I decided to wait for some minutes.

I kind of... remember some fond memories. Before everything went to hell. With my parents, Sayo and Ieyasu...

My mother used to read me books before going to sleep. I should have them in my room. I didn't take any, as I already know them word by word.

Agh... I didn't even made Akame smile, and this was my only chance. Next time we'll just kill each other. Oh, excuse me. I meant she'll kill me while I move my sword around trying to kill her.

I bumped into someone as soon as I tried to enter my room. What now...

Even in the darkness of the night, I could still see the pink.

"You're still here? How did you know where to sleep?" At least it looks like she took my bedroom. That's good.

"What are you talking about? You told me to!" She whispered.

"Oh, yes! I remember." I don't. "I was going to check something so... you can go to the bathroom."

"W-Why would I go to the bathroom?!" She suddenly made a fuss over such a simple way of thinking.

"Well, why else would you be awake? Ah, maybe you're thirsty?" Or hungry, both work.

"I thought I heard something so I went to investigate." She said, as if telling a lie.

"...Sure, I'll go with that. Well, if you don't mind, I'm going to enter for a second." I gently pushed her aside and entered my room.

Well, it smells like Mein but my room looks pretty good. How do I know the way she smells...? I guess I do know how she tastes. Maybe that's why I puked.

I'm joking already with something that barely passed hours ago. Seems like I'm fine.

I looked around for a second, and headed towards my bookshelf. It's covered with dust, but it's a thin layer.

"You know how to read?" I suddenly heard behind my back.

"More or less. I also know how to write. If I say it like that, seems like I had an awesome education." I also know how to multiply! And... eh... That's about it. Does hunting count like education?

"At least somebody taught you. I had to live in the streets most of the time, moving every time further from the capital." She sat down in the bed as he said her past.

"Didn't the Revolution gave you shelter?" When I met her, she was already affiliated.

"It wasn't any different. The Empire would find our refuge and destroy it. Now it would be much easier, as we're stronger..." So the Revolution wasn't doing that well until recently.

My eyes focused in a certain book. This one was my favorite.

"When... When we met, you said you were having a test of some sort. Was it a test to enter Night Raid?" She sighed while falling to the bed like a rock.

"I didn't know what it was at the time. The opportunity arose, and I took it. Simple as that." I was hoping for some kind of epic tale, but I'll take it too.

"I see... Going from an street urchin to an assassin doesn't sound too farfetched." I won't even ask about her parents. I probably already know the answer. "So you don't know how to read. To see that I actually know something that you don't... Makes me want to sing." I took a deep breath and prepared to make a great representation of Hamlet, but a very nasty cough got in my way.

That didn't sound good.

I lighted a candle, and put it on my small table.

"O-Of course I know how to read!" She suddenly got up trying to argue back. Her sudden nervousness tipped me off. Yes... Yeah! Finally I can be better than her!

"Alright then. Would you mind reading..." I took my favorite book and opened a random page. "This?"

She pouted as if she knew what I was doing.

"Don't be an idiot. I'll read it with heart too!" She looked at the text briefly before saying anything.

"In the morning sun, when I look around, all I feel is the pain inside, not a story of a-" She didn't speak of what we say, fluently, but she at the very least could read. "What kind of books do you read?! No wonder you're like..." She stopped before saying anything more. That hurt a bit.

"Come on, keep reading." I urged her to continue, as she had stopped just at a long word.

The light of the candle make the text very clear, so she didn't have an excuse.

"Brok...Brokenhearted." I couldn't help but laugh as she struggled with the word. "D-Don't laugh! I read it, didn't I?!" She suddenly got embarrassed, not believing her own words. "Jerk."

"Y-Yeah, you did it!" I struggle to hold back my laughter, trying to at the very least comfort her in some way. "Look at it like this! You already more than 80% of the population! Hurray!"

"I'll congratulate you too. You're a jerk like 80% percent of the population!" She pointed at me while smiling softly.

"Fine, fine. I won't laugh anymore." I couldn't really maintain that promise though.

Even if I was the only one laughing, I could see that she was still enjoying herself. She was trying to hide her emotions behind a scowl, but she was still smiling without realizing. I haven't been able to make Akame smile, but at least I'm able to make Mein forget what happened to her, even if for a few seconds.

"It's your stupid books fault. Who uses brokenhearted anyways?" That word pretty much summarizes the last six chapters.

"Hey, the 'Knight of the Moon' is the best book ever!" It has like... battles... and love... and things.

"I bet everyone dies at the end." She said teasingly.

"Huh... I don't know. I don't have the sequel. I just remembered it ended in a cliffhanger! OH GOD WHY?!" You know how many ending did I imagine for that book? TONS. "Why did you make me remember?!"

"You're an emotional rollercoaster. Are we sure you're not insane?" Shush you girl!

"Memories flooded in. I'm ultra sensitive today for some reason." Gah, no sexual pun! I hate this day.

"Oh fine. I'll let it slip today..." Her voice changed, as if remembering the events that happened...

Agh... Think of something happier.

"...There's a girl in Night Raid who changes forms, right?" I said trying to switch topics. "She told me that I'd be dead in a month. Well, it's been three months since that, so tell her she's wrong."

"I don't know if you're incredibly lucky, or just stupid enough to get yourself in those situations." Is that a compliment...?

"I'm sure it's the latter. I think I'm the person who has survived Night Raid the most, and I don't have any award." I think it's a great feat.

"Oh really? Today I let you go. I only miss on purpose. In fact, I think you should repay me!" She said proudly.

I think saving you from the alchemist should seal the deal. But if I said that, there goes the good mood. Damn it, I can't even make a good joke! Oh, wait.

"Repay you? Great, then have this book!" I pushed the book against her while she stared at me awkwardly.

"...You're not even smooth with your words." She snatched the book with a whine.

"Oh yeah? I'm teflon coated!"

For the first time, she laughed at one of my jokes. Maybe it was just of how bad it was, but it felt nice.

Speaking of feeling nice... my stomach looks like it can handle water. I'll have a tea, and then I'll leave. I have to meet up with my group before anyone realizes I'm gone. Egu can only handle so much.

"Well, eh... I'm going to make some tea. Do you want some?" I asked before feeling my throat itching. Horrible feeling...

"Ah... no, thanks. I want to at least sleep an hour." It was good to see an honest answer, but I felt slightly disappointed.

"I'm sure I'm annoying, but it's been ages since I had a normal conversation. I think I needed it." I opened the door and prepared to leave.

"If you could call that normal... Just be more happy, and it'll be fine." She avoided my eyes and got inside the bed.

"Sleep tight..."

I closed the door and shook my head.

What am I doing talking to her... Something horrible is going to happen now. And I'm sure I won't be able to do anything. Again.

I walked towards the kitchen, and started coughing again. Stupid phlegm, everything is awful with them.

"Stop that." I felt goosebumps and turned around almost falling to the ground.

"A-Akame? Don't scare me like that!" The moonlight was the only thing that bathed the room. "I think I'm sick, if I could stop coughing, I would."

What kind of request is that?

"Not that. We aren't enemies, but we aren't allies." Her voice made it sound threatening, even if there wasn't even the slightest change on her voice.

"We have a common enemy, don't we?" I answered.

"Which you're a part of. That is the reason you should stop talking to Mein." Come again?

"I'm sorry then, because that won't happen. It has to happen by her own initiative." Who is she to tell me what to do? I don't have to be submissive with these people. They _still _killed Seryu, and even if it's only thread guy, I can't help but resent them.

I had to lower my gaze as she was way too intimidating to me. Or maybe it was embarrassment. I still don't know if I really like her.

"...When you appeared against Zank... could you tell me what happened?" What did exactly happen after I fell unconscious? Why didn't Akame kill Seryu? Why didn't Seryu try to attack her?

"No." I felt that nimble word strike me down where I stood.

"Why? I want to..."

"Is the past more important? Or is the future that awaits us the real objective?" She looked like a robot talking like that.

"What do you mean? If you don't know the past, you're doomed to repeat it." I tried to explain, but I might have failed.

"And those who know it are doomed to see others repeat it." What is she trying to tell me?

...The past is the most important, right? It's basically all my experiences, my childhood... The past makes me the person who I am today. And that brings me pain...

...The present is also important. All my actions will not only change the present, but the future as well. I can... change myself now. I choose to learn new things, and that makes me different from before.

...But the future is my hope. I don't have any left. Which means that my future is as troublesome as ever. The unknown is scary... I don't want to know my future.

For me, the past and the future are pain.

The present is the only thing that can change one of those things. It's good to learn from the past, but bringing up something sad won't help me. If I can control the present, the future will be made up from my own two hands.

"So what are you trying? Make me focus in other things?" What was that inner monologue right now...

"No. I don't care about you. I care about Mein. You're not thinking on the future, or the present. You are trying to amend your own failures, and that only brings you more pain and loss." She left me dumbfounded as she talked more and more.

"You aren't learning from the mistakes. You aren't living on the present. You don't think about others. You only care about yourself. That kind of person doesn't have a future. That would mean more sadness for Mein. And I won't allow it."

I slowly moved my hand toward my chest, as if something was trying to escape from it. Why is she saying those mean things? I'm not... I'm not stuck in the past. I am... I am fighting for everyone, right?

But then... why did I embark myself in this assassination? How would that help anyone? I only brought more pain to the people I love. When did I lose my way? When did I stop protecting the people? I went out of my way to help a girl, one lone girl who wasn't even saying the truth, in the Red District. I didn't complain when the Empire sent me on a death mission against Zank or when I was flogged like a criminal, because at the very least I helped someone.

I haven't helped anyone since. I just had people do my job while I planned how to kill Stylish. But Tatsumi helps people. Tatsumi wants to bring justice to everyone.

Tell me, please tell me.. Exactly, who resides within me? Just what can I do?

_"Just be more happy, and it'll be fine." _Mein...

_"You're saying that like you can't do it. I thought you'd fight to the last breath?" _Esdese...

_"What did I say? Stop being a stupid tragic protagonist and be happy!" _Seryu...

"You might be right... Maybe I'm really arrogant. But you were wrong on one thing. _I _am not in the Empire. I will effectively overthrow both the Emperor and Prime Minister, quite more peacefully than you all."

"That won't be possible." She answered.

"Perhaps so. But it's not like you guys have any more chances than I do. I've already infiltrated the Palace in less than six months. The Revolution has been around for twenty, and I'm quite happy from my results."

That's it. This strength that is flowing through me... I have pushed aside everyone dying wishes long enough. Even if I don't have a reason to live... Seryu, Mein and Esdese want me to keep going. I don't have hope for myself, but others do. So that's why... I've decided to fight!

I won't give up! The Empire has been oppressing everyone long enough! The Revolution isn't strong enough. Like the heroes from my stories, I will make my own path. Even if it's crimson colored. _I _am the only one who has been able to enter the Palace, and I'm the only one willing to liberate everyone!

That's right... Seryu! We will accomplish the justice you wished for while making Ieyasu's perfect world! I know you all are supporting me!

Like the phoenix I have risen from the ashes , and into my fire you shall fall.

* * *

Nothing much happened after that. Akame took a sit and just stood there looking at me. I didn't sleep, as my stomach was still a bit unsettled. My body was in a bad shape, and I had trouble breathing.

We left the village before sunrise, without saying goodbye. I should have said something to the elder, but I just can't lose more time.

Shortly after that, Akame and Mein left. Obviously I couldn't follow them, but Mein was kind enough to say goodbye. I didn't know if our respective talks had changed their opinion about me, but I couldn't think about it a lot.

It took several hours to reach the meeting point I had marked with Egu. I freaked out a bit when I realized I had passed the localization, but it seemed they were already returning for some reason.

Without further ado, I saw my company of soldiers and sneaked by to not get seen. I was in very bad shape, so I didn't want to arise any questions. That is, until...

"Heya, captain! I was loo- You look like crap." Egu, my lieutenant, greeted me as informal as ever.

"You do know I'm your superior." I sighed as I pressed my hand against my temple.

"Yeah, but you know. We're friends!"

"We aren't." I'm pretty sure I forgot your full name.

"Oh. Well, I have to report our situation!" He suddenly stiffened and got serious. "Our mission was postponed. The vanguard was attacked by bandits who stole most of our weapons. Mostly firearms." That explains why they were returning. So they didn't do anything after all. I guess I was lucky to find them here.

"Why firearms?" Bandits usually attack merchants, not the army... that sounds fishy.

"Well, eh... Making them is really hard. You can make a sword without too much thinking, but guns are complicated. That's why we still use swords and spears. Besides those things are fucking expensive! I know this guy who had to suck d-" I quickly raised my hand to stop his rambling.

"Yeah, just forgot the Empire is a... very bad person with the blueprints. So a bunch of firearms got stolen and we got decommissioned for that. Did somebody find out about me?" I questioned him, setting my priorities.

"No. Although... well, I did have to make up some random excuses." No matter.

"So I have an alibi... Anything worth mentioning?" That relieves me quite a bit... I just have to make it to the capital alive.

"It might be, eh, a touchy subject but... there have been rumors about you..." A faint ghastly sound entered my ears as he said that.

"What rumors? Tell me." The last thing I need are more problems.

"You've been in the Palace a lot lately and you don't even sleep in the barracks anymore. You've been very antisocial too since S...Seryu died. There's also your strange ways to rank up..."

Well, it's not like I wasn't expecting that to happen. But not so soon... I have to balance everything out, but Esdese just doesn't give me enough time. With this new found strength, I might be able to make a good plan.

"How many people?" Tell me it's a low number...

"Not a lot, but the people is starting to doubt... I mean, what you did in the Craftsmen's district incident helped to establish your leadership, but even that's starting to fade." Well, that wasn't that bad after all.

So I just have to do something to really make people follow me. Is anything else better than in the battlefield?

"Alright, thanks for telling me. I'll fix it in no time." I think I'm forgetting something. "Dismissed."

"May I ask another question?" Oh for god's sake.

"Do you want me to vomit on you?" Woah, I really said it. Pretty sure I was only thinking it. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Now if you excuse me, I'm 90% sure I won't be returning in at least... three days."

My body is telling me these exact words: I just want to die. I WANT ANALGESICS! I'M DYING OVER HERE!

Even after that, we still took another hour to reach the capital. And believe me, maybe my pain detectors are off, but I didn't feel that bad. My nose was still plugged and I was wheezing like a madman. Standing on both feet is also very tiring. But my stomach seemed pretty good, and I was even hungry.

And let's not talk about coughing... My voice must be worn out already.

In any case, I made it alright to the Palace. If I don't report to Esdese... well, bad things. Not to mention I did murder a Jaeger so... Damn, I'm so stupid...

The worst thing is that the damn Palace is in a goddamn hill. I can barely stay on both feet and you make me do this?! And after that, we have the steps... Fu- Screw my life in this moment.

With a heavy breath, I was able to enter the Palace.

The entrance was quite big. The rows of columns in each side gave a Roman kind of atmosphere, truly giving the ambience that this was an Emperor's palace. It was big enough to at least have a sports competition with no problem. It was a great impact for me the first time I saw it, but now it was normal.

The ground was chess patterned, as a reminder that everyone here was a pawn for the Empire.

"Oh? Tatsumi! How're yo- You look sick." I heard a rather familiar voice coming from my left just as I entered the wide entrance.

"Wave? Hello." A pretty lame hello if I say so myself. "Could you do me a favor?" He approached me with a mixed expression, as if worried but wary at the same time.

"Uh... It depends, what is it?" I have phlegms all over my lungs... And the coughing is starting to hurt.

"This is a bit embarrasing but... could you help me get up the staircase...?" What a defeat this is... I know I won't be able to make it alone.

"S-Sure. But I'm supposed to be escorting someone first." I pondered for a second what he meant.

"Isn't that the job of the guards?" You're a special unit after all.

"No. The general told me it was a troublemaker, so I guess she meant escorting whoever comes here." He explained.

So Esdese is actually wary of someone. That's unexpected.

"Couldn't she be more specific? It seem-" A random cough interrupted my words. "Sorry. It seems kind of vague for me."

"I've learned that if she gives me a direct order, it means I'm an idiot. At the very least with these trivial things." Makes sense, I guess.

"I see... And who are we waiting for?" I don't have any problem with waiting, but I don't want to be late. Wait, I don't have an order. I can be late.

"Don't know. It might be something related to..." He suddenly started whispering. "The son of the prime minister, who was here yesterday. He looked like he had received a small beating and he was yelling curses about some lion girl. Don't know what happened. But I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to hear that."

"He has a _son_?! What woman on her right mind would... Ah right, money."

Lion girl? What kind of drugs did he take t-

No, no, no. He meant that girl?! That Night Raid chick?! Then... there was someone else in that compound?! What if he saw me?! No, I'm sure we haven't seen each other! It must be just a coincidence! As long as he didn't see me then... !

That's right, nothing happened... no need to be nervous... If the worst happens, I'll kill him.

The only other person I'd need to kill is...

"Oh, wait. Pretty sure somebody's trying to sneak by..." Wave suddenly said. What is he doing...

As if he had seen a ghost, he took a brief sprint and grabbed hold of the air. Was he a mimic or...

He got hold of something and pulled, revealing a familiar girl. Was that an invisibility cloak or am I crazy? Yeah, it seems like he's holding some kind of fabric... No, that's not what is important.

"God, you're annoying." I instinctively took several steps back.

No.

_No._

NO.

NO!

"Please, don't make a scene." Wave replied, but his grasp on her was quickly broken.

"As if I-" Her glare suddenly locked on me.

I didn't know how to react, but neither did she. If anything she was just as shocked as I was.

What the hell is Dorothea doing here?!

I'm boned! I'm fucked! She doesn't only know that I killed Stylish, she knows that I actively acted with Night Raid too. Unlike all those other times Ogre or other people accused me of that, this time there's actual proof!

What do I do? What do I do?! Do I run? I have to kill her! But in my state that's...!

"...Hello there." A small smile reminded me of everything that happened yesterday.

I want to cry a lot right now.

"H-Hi." Don't. Freak. Out. Breathe. BREATHE! I can't do that with these lungs!

"I didn't know there was another member of the Jaegers." With only a few words, I already felt that I was being lured into a trap.

Yesterday she thought I was part of Night Raid. She was as confused as me when we saw each other, so she can't know much more than me. She's trying to get information to manipulate me? Possible, but I can't risk it. Right now, I can't be too brisk or she'll expose me.

"He's just affiliated to us. Nothing else." It looks like Wave is watching both of us. I can't let him know what connects us...

Calm down...

Think of the situation. In the bright side, it seems she hasn't said anything about me yet. So, I'm pretty sure she's going to rape the hell out of me.

Oh... Oh...! Haha... HAHAHA!

That's my salvation!

Yes! Try to rape me, you bitch! I'll just have to make sure that Esdese is right on the spot and PAM! Jealousy strike and Bye-Bye blondie!

Oh, yes! Happy dance! Happy! I'd never thought that her love would actually be useful!

Unless... she thinks I'm the one doing it, which should be bad for me. Stupid society!

Stop the happy dance. We have to rewrite the plan.

"Really?" She approached me quite happily.

We don't know her...! Stick to the plan! Stick to the plan!

Wait, we don't have the plan anymore. Who's we anyways?

"Oh my, you look ill." Don't use a cheerful tone. Don't breathe on me. Your face is too close. Freaking me out. "You know, I'm an alchemist! I'm sure I can make you feel better."

Why does everything sound sexual now?! Why is your body so close to me?!

"Enough side tracking. I have orders to escort you, and I don't like to be late." Wave, who was serious for the first time, saved me from this sudden attempt to... well, I don't know. Whatever flies through her head.

I could stay here and get away from her... But I have to be sure that she doesn't spill the beans.

"I'll go too." I said before she could ruin everything.

The stairs are going to kill me, but I can't let her say anything about me. This time the only guarantee of my safety is Wave, and he doesn't know what's happening. As long as he doesn't leave me alone, I'll be perfect.

Let's praise Esdese and see if she kills her.

The tension was starting to give me a severe headache, but I still followed them without questions. The smile she's giving certainly means that she's up to no good.

"...Follow me." He said moving his hand.

The day I recover, I'm killing her. I already know what kind of opponent she is. If I could get somebody else to do it, I'll take that too.

"Did you something stressful happen yesterday?" The girl questioned me, clearly trying to prompt an answer.

If she keeps acting so friendly with me, that'll give the wrong idea to everyone. I'm not sure if I can handle everything now.

"...No."

I've never asked but... do they already know what happened to Stylish? Is that why Wave is acting like that? He knows that I was supposed to be out of the town, but he'd also know that it would be impossible for me.

No, they don't know it yet. If so, I wouldn't be here. But, if the son of the prime minister was here yesterday... then how did he get here so quickly? And what's most important, what was he doing there? I know why Dorothea was there, but Syura makes no sense. They must be connected...

But if I'm correct, and they don't know... Why is Wave colder than usual? Something must have happened... What does he know?

My trail of thought was interrupted as I felt Dorothea too close to me.

"See how nice I am? I haven't told anything yet." She whispered next to me, as we started going up the stairs. 'Yet' was the keyword in that phrase.

Just act nice. If I make a mistake, I'll be done.

"...What do you want?" I replied in her range of voice.

I already know the answer to that question, but can't I get rid of this sickness first? And when that happens, I'll be ready to stab you. With a sword. Several times.

"I'm just going to mess with you until I get bored. Do you know what'll happen if I get bored?" She'll kill me, or tell everyone what I did. Either I'm screwed in several ways. "If you don't want word to get out about how you killed him, then you'd better stay quiet and do as I say."

She smiled at me in a playful way before moving away from me.

So... well...

I'm basically a slave at this point. And I can't do anything to...

if I could get Mein's help, she could snipe her way before she could do anything. She has more than a reason to kill her.

Yes and... I'm tired!

I can't go up this stairs! How much time has it been?! Only ten seconds? Or ten minutes?!

I can't take it. My body doesn't hurt that much, but I'm so tired... I have trouble breathing too, and that's not good.

Screw it, I don't care if she tells anything. I'm going to sleep in this staircase right now! I don't want any more exercise!

And just like that I embraced the hug from Morpheus. At least it won't hurt anymore.

* * *

**Tatsumi has the right to hate blond girls now. Guess the reason for the arc name has been exposed! Half of it. The other half, in two chapters!**

**In any case, I don't regret censoring quite a lot the last chapter. I'll never upload it, but if somebody wants to know what was going to happen just picture this: Doggie-hybrids. Two holes. And reverse rape. Actual suicide attempt. Picture that along with a humiliation tag and... Tada! You have the real chapter 15! Darker than black...**

**In any case... don't know what the hell happened with the jokes in this chapter. I didn't drink anything I swear! **

**I actually wanted to explain the title, along with that brief paragraph... But you'll get it next chapter. Just guess who's the princess of red roses. Pretty obvious. I hope.**

**And besides that... I actually got a lot of support this last chapter. I was worried by such trivial things... I regret sounding like a crybaby. But as you've chosen to stay, I swear you'll enjoy the ride!**

**Next chapter is "Princess of Black Roses." GUESS WHO SHE IS?! Alright, kind of obvious if you look at the important characters of the fic but... You get the drill.**

**THAAAAANK YOU all once again. I'll never grow tired of saying that word. Neither should you!**

**By the way... who's going to get that 100 review?! CHAN CHAN CHAN!**


	17. Princess of Black Roses

**HOLY FUCK... That chapter 61... TATSUMI, THE FUCK HAPPENED?!**

* * *

**Enslaved Soldier Arc**

_**Princess of Black Roses**_

* * *

_I'm the princess of black roses, I want you to make me yours passionately__  
__So I smile and my eyes invite you to chase me__  
__You're also the knight of the black moon, Warmth lies deep in your eyes__  
__Seize me and hold me tight__  
__This miracle calls love_

* * *

_I looked through one of the shop's windows, feeling the warm sun in my back. The lack of wind didn't bother me but after feeling uneasy, I started walking through the streets._

_The sun hid behind the buildings, and a freezing cold surrounded everything._

_In a matter of seconds my world had fallen into despair. Everything was slowly eroding away, without any kind of mercy._

_My feet seemed to step on ice, shattering it almost instantly. _

_An eternity after, somebody stopped my fall. And by stopping I mean falling on top of them._

_That person gave me a soft feeling, indescribable._

_We started walking away from the cold world. I know this person. She's... Seryu._

_Even while I walked along, hand in hand with her, I was torn in a beautiful, inner turmoil. I wanted to walk behind her, so that I'd be sure she's cared for; I wanted to walk beside her, so that my partnership would be complete; I wanted to walk ahead of her, so that any tragedies could befall on me first, and give her time to save herself._

_I couldn't know the extent of my actions, but if something was fueling them... it was surely..._

_She stopped for some reason, and I looked back at her._

_She received me with a warm smile, melting my already broken heart. I couldn't just stand there._

_I savored the feel as my hands enveloped her and awaited as our lips got closer to each other._

_That was it. That was all. But no._

_A gust of wind threw me to the ground, as I heard the edge of a sword slicing through it._

_I looked up to see Akame threatening me with her teigu, a faint taint of anger surrounding her._

_"Strip." She said robotically._

_I, of course, disobeyed that order._

_The last thing I saw was her blade piercing through my heart._

* * *

"..."

My eyes opened out of shock, just to quickly close them again thanks to the sunlight. Sheesh... That was a weird dream, wasn't it? I really need to get better...

...That was a bit embarrassing... In any case, dreams aren't supposed to make sense.

It felt like my whole body was clogged with mucus. I have to breathe through my mouth because my nose is plugged, and it's annoying. I want to feel better!

"Ah? Good morning." I turned my head to check who was talking. I can't even hear very good...

"How are you feeling?" Yep, can't forget that voice. Esdese is the only one who should be with me anyways...

"Like raisins..." And now my throat hurts! Why did I get sick?! It's a rhetorical question by the way.

"Falling unconscious in a staircase is a very bad idea. Were you trying to escape my training sessions?" I don't know if she's just messing with me... I'm too tired to think.

"Eh... No?" Was she serious?

I tried to move and get a better position, but I felt so comfy in the bed that it wasn't worth it.

It looks like I'm in Esdese's room. Not really a surprise, but I had never realized how big this bed was. I'm usually just in a side trying to... contain myself.

"Do you want some water?" It looks like she has brought a nice chair and is watching over me. That's sweet...

"Please." I hurts to talk. Not much but definitely uncomfortable. That, plus not being able to breathe... yeah, you know how being sick feels like.

I just need some rest. My body isn't that weak.

She handed me a glass of water way faster than I expected. Apparently she had already thought about it. It's surprisingly cold for... Oh yeah, ice powers.

...This water is too sweet. Did she throw a mountain of sugar on it?

As the water passed through my body, I was reminded of something. I was starving. I spent a whole day without eating. Even if I don't eat much, hell, I'm still a human! I at least need to once a day! Even more when I'm sick!

And my body, seeing how much it hated me these days, obviously growled in hunger. Talking about inconvenient...

"Oh, you've regained your appetite?" She said almost too happily. She's way more... charming than usual. Maybe is because I'm sick. Must be...

"Well... I might..." I answered sheepishly as I returned the glass of water. It's hard to talk to her sometimes, especially when she's too affectionate. At least she hasn't to rape me yet.

_Someone _should learn about it... Ahem...

"Next time I'll expect a more straightforward answer." Don't judge me all of a sudden! "Use all this time to rest all you can."

She got up from the chair and headed towards the exit.

"Wait, where are you going?" I asked, a quiet fear growing in my head.

"Aren't you hungry? I'll make a meal full of love." Stop it saying things so... passionately!

I don't want to be alone! And not because I'd feel lonely or whatever. Because that freaking rapist is in this very Palace! The last thing I need, it's being alone, weak and in a bed!

If... whatever she wants to do has to happen, at the very least, I want to have some choice in the matter! Not like I'll have but... I would have liked to choose another person for my first time, you know!

"I..." Don't screw this by showing your weakness! Exploit hers instead! "I wanted to spend the time with you." Yeah, use her feelings. That was pretty dickish...

Lo and behold, my words did affect her in some way. Feel kind of bad about it, but I can't just tell him that I'm scared of getting raped.

In one day or so I should be able to leave this room. In two I'll solve the problem with my soldiers and in three I'll be in perfect shape and... murdering time! Perfect!

...Even then, I must be absolutely sure of my chances. If I try to kill her and fail, might as well die.

Eh... I should stop trying to escape reality.

"I can't say no if you're so nice." Don't make me blush... "But you still have to eat."

She opened the door and left before I could say anything.

Oh crap. I'm alone.

ENTER ALERT MODE!

All sirens go! Pump that adrenaline! Find a weapon! We cannot be used today by a creepy girl! Or tomorrow. Ever.

"Done." Esdese entered again in no time. Not even five seconds...

"That... was fast." My fault for entering overly dramatic mode.

"We have servants for a reason." She answered in a lighter tone. She's all nice again...

She closed the door and opened the curtains of the room to let more sunlight in. Mercifully my eyes had already awoken, and I didn't die by the sudden change of light.

After that, she sat down in the same chair beside me again.

I can't ask her about Stylish. Too obvious. But after seeing that girl here, it's clear they know. Until she actually brings the subject out, I can't talk about it indirectly or directly.

Following the brief silence, she decided to start talking.

"Did you know that a very long fever can make you sterile?" Her tranquil voice didn't make it better.

"W-What are you talking about?" I didn't take it too well. I mean... I'm the one with the fever. I don't want to be sterile! I don't want any children yet, but I surely don't want to take that chance away!

"I thought it would make you more motivated." Of course it won't!

"It doesn't!" I yelled, causing a sudden coughing fit.

I hate being ill!

"You overreact some times... I wonder, does that mean you're nervous?"" She handed me a handkerchief which I gladly took.

I feel like I just lost half my weight with all those mucus.

"Well... I don't make sense... Gah... Isn't there a healing teigu? It would be extremely handy right now..."

"There isn't as far as I know. However, this is your fault. You're usually fairly healthy, so how did you get sick?" I couldn't sense any malice behind her words, but it was a tricky question.

Lost my coat in some goo. Overworked myself. A surprising amount of self-hatred and lots and lots of cold.

"I'd like to know that too... maybe it had something to do with not sleeping much, a cold morning and the fact that I didn't have any breakfast." It's technically not a lie.

"It wasn't your first mission. Why were you nervous?" Alright, she caught something... What did I say?

"Eh? I wasn't nervous. It was an easy task to do." So easy that I didn't even need to be there. Please don't think that.

"Then why didn't you sleep?" She asked genuinely worried.

Ah... for a second, I thought she was trying to unravel my lies. I could hug you right now!

"Eh... well that's..." Say more! If you don't, she'll think about Stylish! First thing that flies through your mind! "...Eh... R-Reasons?"

Two. Wait, three. Five. Eight. Twelve. If we count that too, fifteen. Plus that... seventeen. The list just keeps growing! Do clothes count too? Restart!

"Oh my, I didn't know you were a closet pervert." I rolled my eyes as she teased me with those words.

Well, maybe... Wait no!

"I meant that... it was a full moon and... eh... there was a lot of... light! Coming through the windows! Definitely that!"

...I should think the things I say before actually saying them. Change topics! Change them!

"Is there... Is there a library in the palace?" I quickly asked. It's not like I like to read, but it will be more entertaining than sleeping. Besides, since I remembered that book...

"What an odd question. What is a palace without a library?" Well, eh... a palace. Am I not seeing something with those questions or what?

"Should I answer that...?" No, really. What?

"It was a rhetorical question." Oh. I'm a dumbass.

"What I was saying... Is that I want a book. I mean, it's not an order or something. A desire, more than anything..." I don't want to sound rough or anything, but she wouldn't really care.

"Oh, what book is it? The Art of War?" She asked, not hiding a small burst of excitement.

Well, I didn't expect that.

"Eh, no, no. It's about a knight who..."

"Ah, Mio Cid?" Who...?

"N-No, I actually don't know the name. I think..." I admitted.

"That's troublesome... If you can tell me the plot, maybe I can find it." She really wanted to help me, but I don't know why I should be surprised.

"Ah... Thanks a lot." She was rather pleased with my words. "Well, it's about... a knight-errant. He arrives at the court of an old and decrepit king who was going to die at any moment."

My throat didn't seem to like all this talking, but it already hurt before. Besides, I don't talk this much with Esdese, so I bet she's enjoying herself. Huh...

"Ehm... The king had three children, a boy and two girls. The son died at war, so the kingdom would be inherited by one of the princesses. However, they both wanted the throne for distinct reasons..." I continued the storytelling. "You can ask me if I don't make sense."

"I've spoken to madmen. So far, you're doing pretty good." She complimented my superb storytelling skills.

Maybe they're not that good... But hey, I think I qualify as slightly mental person. That's bad.

"...Anyways, as you can guess, the sisters were very different. The oldest sister was known as the princess of black roses and was the current regent. The knight describes her as... a perfect woman, if it wasn't for her personality. She wasn't the regent by her father's choice, she had manipulated, killed and schemed her way through to assert her power..." For some reason, I always depicted her with black feathers.

"The youngest princess wasn't that much better. The princess of red roses, as she was called by, didn't have the attractive of her older sister, but she was still very cute. The reason she wanted the throne was for pure fanatic motives. She believed that God had chosen her to rule the kingdom and beyond... and the princess had been indoctrinated by those thoughts. Or so the Knight believes." So a religious nutjob and a power hungry noble. Not that farfetched really.

"...What's the difference between being attractive and cute?" Her genuine expression really threw me off.

"Well... eh... I mean... cute is more youthful, while attractive is more like... Greek goddess? No, that's not it... Cute is more like... why are you asking me this?"This is not the kind of questions I suggested!

"Nothing." Oh no, did I screw up something?! "...And you read that book as a kid?" She asked me as I was taking a break from all that talking.

"Eh... my mom read them to me, and she censored a lot of things. I re-read it when... well, when I wanted to leave this world. Metaphorically."

She accepted that answer, and politely told me to continue.

"So... Well, that's enough backstory... The Knight of Moon could care less about those two, and though he was still a proud Knight, he was poor. He accepted all kind of tasks from both of them, whether they were miscellaneous tasks or as shady as getting somebody killed in a duel." Maybe we could even say he was forced by the unnatural power of money...

"Doing those tasks, he learnt that the princesses were still humans. The princess of black roses wanted to be the Queen so her dynasty wouldn't die off. The princess of red roses wanted to be the Queen to bring back the glory days of the kingdom."

"Those are still selfish reasons." Esdese suddenly said.

"Eh, sure. They are. The thing is... The knight started to feel close to both of them until... the King died, and so the oldest sister became the Queen. However, the youngest sister didn't approve that and a civil war broke out between the two of them. And so, both girls asked the Knight of Moon for help."

"If he went with the princess of red roses, the light of God would make him the Knight of the White Moon. If he chose the princess of black roses, the strength of the Queen would make him the Knight of the Black Moon. The question was, who did he love the most?"

I stopped talking to drink more water, as my throat was reaching its limits. It was nice to tell the story. At least she wanted to hear it, unlike Mein.

"And?" She inquired as she leaned a bit forward in interest.

"And what?" I replied.

"Who did he choose?"

"Eh... I don't know. The book ends there. That's why I asked..."

The disappointment on her face was hilarious. I should have seen this coming, but damn...! I didn't know she'd like it!

"You're a mood killer." She said as I tried to hide my laugh.

Now that I think about it, I'm accidentally evil! I toppled the world like this!

"Well, that's why I like the book. It leaves me to fantasize the outcome. But after so many years, I kind of want to know what would happen." I explained, feeling a bit bad about her sudden drop of happiness.

"You shouldn't worry so much about that. After all, those bad days are gone since you are with me. But if you want so much that sequel, I guess I'll have to do something." I felt strange emotion as I averted my eyes from her.

I think... that understanding Esdese might be more complicated than what I thought. Her expressions, every time she flips her hair, or damn, even how she was walks tells me more about her mood and intentions than her words...

It's just... that something is strange when I speak with her... I feel nervous for some reason...

I guess she's just a passionate woman...

After that exchange, my day wasn't that exciting. Unless you want me to tell you how I slept most of the day, perhaps there's a better choice.

The night fell once again, and I didn't find any trouble in sleeping like a baby.

* * *

_I walked through the paved road silently. The trees surrounded every step I made, as if not letting me see around me. _

_A brief sound corrupted the silence._

_All the leaves started to fall down, mimicking a normal autumn afternoon. The sun was settling behind me, and suddenly it chose to disappear in the horizon._

_Sixteen steps after, I stopped._

_My eyes wandered off to a tower next to me. Gray, cold and rock-hard, it looked more like a prison than a fortress. _

_As I admired the majestic structure, a loud noise filled the world._

_The sky had sent a lightning bolt towards the tower, striking its top off. Along with the rubble, I noticed something else falling with it._

_I rushed towards the falling person, and successfully saved her from a definitive demise. Her pink hair danced along with the wind while several rocks surrounded us._

_She thanked me, and took some steps back. I tried to say something, but her teigu was aimed at my chest._

_Before I could open my mouth, a blinding light perforated my chest and erased every chance of survival._

_As I was falling to the ground, the last thing I saw was a very sad smile._

* * *

Huh... What's with these dreams...?

Feeling way more strong than yesterday, I stretched myself and enjoyed how my whole body cracked and eroded away the tension in my muscles.

I was still a bit congested, but I felt alive. I want to leave this room at the very least.

I looked around, but there wasn't anyone here. I could hear the shower, and the water sliding through...

So she's taking a shower. Fair enough.

I moved my feet for a moment and got up from bed. I felt slightly relived as I didn't feel that immediate exhaustion from two days ago.

Ah, yes. My chest is still congested, but I can breathe easier than yesterday. In fact, I can even feel my whole body. A bit sore, but I'm like... at 60%. I won't force myself though. I'll just take this day to relax and take the pleasure of a normal day.

I'll fix the problem with the soldiers some other day. I'm too tired to leave this palace yet...

I took a look around before focusing in the bathroom door again. Huh...

... So she's there... soaked in water...

No, Tatsumi! You've been holding back for almost two weeks! You can't peek now! Or any other thing at all!

...I mean well... I am a bit sick. Sick people must be happy to recover faster. So...

No! Stop it! That's...

...

T-The door is opened to a small extent so... If I just look passing through, it's not my fault. Certainly. Definitely.

Hm...

Why can't I see anything?!

Feeling pushed my some primitive instinct, I moved a bit closer.

N-No, this is wrong. I can't do this! The only thing I can be proud of is of not being a pervert! The amount of sheer willpower I have to use every night to not do anything is unreal! And each day it just gets worse!

But... you know... she's the one teasing me! I-I-I can only take so much!

T-Think of the situation! I-I'm probably going to get raped in a matter of 48 hours. S-So it would be much better to lose my virginity with Esdese, right?!

B-But that's bad too! I don't exactly love her! Damn it! If I could just take the joker and choose Seryu, then everything would be dandy! She would kill that girl too.

"Do you have a headache? You've been standing there for two minutes."

I suddenly looked to my left to see Esdese drying up her hair with a towel, already dressed with her uniform. When did she leave the shower?! Stupid morals! Making me doubt at these times!

"I was... seeing if my legs are weak! Looks like they aren't." A dry cough interrupted my lies.

Well, at least I don't have anymore phlegms.

"Fresh air should do you some good before breakfast. Do you want to take a walk?" I sighed relieved, because I didn't want to be forced to say cutesy things... Or perhaps I didn't want to manipulate her in that way.

"Sure. I spent a whole day doing nothing, and some exercise should be good." I turned around as I felt that I had fantasized a bit too much about Esdese.

I've controlled myself in time... I have to stop this tension soon, or my body is going to lose control... But I don't have any time...

F-Focus, focus! Let's just end this day, and hope to get better.

I thankfully had put on new clothes and decided to go with my old fashioned white jacket, which should give me some good luck. It's getting warmer every day, but I don't want to risk my health. Spring is already dying, and with that the bad weather.

But summer is coming! That means happy times... or at least, it should represent that. Don't quote me on that one please.

That reminds me... I have to get new equipment. Thinking of switching the smoke grenades for pellets. But I kind of like the grenades longer smoke trail... In any case with my sword lost along with my handgun, I'm back in my childhood days.

If Esdese allows me, I'd want to get back to the armory and get a replacement. But that would mean doing pervy stuff with her. I'm not doing that.

Huh... why do I say it like it's a bad thing...? Oh yeah, the murderings and all that torture.

"You were more aware of your surroundings yesterday." Even if she said it like it wasn't a big deal, I learnt from Wave that she doesn't give straight orders sometimes... Maybe that's just to him.

Then let me translate that...

Yes... I see...

I think she's saying something like: You suck.

"Training my willpower?" I replied a bit unsure. I guess this is a problem with that. I mean, I'm not usually... a horny pastry puffer. Although I lack of catgirls and a bakery.

"You should work on those lies. Shall we get going?" My incompetence might be saving my ass.

"Please." I nodded and held the door opened for her. Respect is one of the few things I have left. Besides, she's technically my boss.

"You should act like this more often." She chuckled at my acts while passing besides me.

"Only if there's a door." I answered. "Or if you order me..."

Although I act like this always... unless I'm angry. Or killing people. Or being angry _while _killing people!

Speaking of orders, she hasn't really abused of her power over me. I can't even distinguish who controls who in this relationship. I guess it's only fair.

"Remember to act more like that in public. But until then, be yourself." She carefully approached me and held my hand as if nothing happened. You're a bit taller than me, you know... I should be the one holdi- Damn.

...For being so feared, she's a very benevolent general. Her soldiers are absolutely loyal to her, which is amazing. I can't even manage 200 soldiers, and she has a whole army blindly following her.

Fine, I'll give her that. She's kind. I kind of like her this way.

But I've never seen her in a battle, so I have to be wary. Sadistic ways, come to me...!

Not too long after, we reached one of the indoor gardens of the palace.

My lungs enjoyed the fresh air that accompanied the royal gardens. I had been walking here before, but I was filled with fear at that time. Now I could relax and enjoy the scent of flowers and leaves...

When I thought of gardens, I imagine the typical maze. However, this wasn't like that. There was a fountain in the middle, representing some hero or emperor I don't recognize. Exotic flowers filled your senses while bees recollected their nectar. There were several paved paths, all decorated with flowers, trees and bushes. Beautiful.

I'd come here more often if it wasn't for the damn guards who hate me. I mean, sure, they are doing their jobs. But screw them.

I followed Esdese along.

Maybe I was allergic to flowers! Maybe I'd be dead! Haven't you thought about that?!

But more than relaxing... I felt even more nervous.

I kind of... haven't fixed that problem about being, eh... on edge.

Think about cats... it didn't work thinking about dogs last time. That is, because my body hated me back then.

Cats... wild... active... intelligent... demanding... racy... playful...! Nya...?!

THIS ISN'T WORKING!

"Tatsumi?"

"I'M HERE!" I answered full of inquietude.

There must be a reason why I'm like this... I mean... sometimes I do, but not to this extent!

Oh, shit. I'm drugged?! Please, tell me yes. I don't want to believe it's my fault.

"I was saying if something was troubling you. You've been daydreaming all this time. Is something wrong?" She said while we got deeper into the garden.

"No, no. I'm... good. I'm just being less professional around you." That's a compliment. Although it doesn't sound like one. I meant that I'm more comfortable with her...

"Well, then you shouldn't. You do know what the objectives of the Jaegers are, right?" She was serious about that. The gentle voice she uses with me has disappeared.

"I do. But we're on the middle of the palace, so I thought..." Gee, I'm still sick you know?! Don't put this weight on me suddenly!

"I know. We are going on a hunting trip soon, so your senses must be sharp." Have I missed something? A hunting... trip.

Alright, that's screaming: Attack us!

"Well, unless there is an ultra class danger beast, there's no... Ah, Night Raid." Feel kind of stupid actually.

I mean, Night Raid might be strong, but if I was them I'd kill the Jaegers little by little to kill Esdese easier. Although that won't be easy even alone.

I mean, just look at that tattoo on her chest. What kind of teigu even is that? Did they got a danger beats, drained all the blood and somehow thought "Well, shit! I can use ice powers!" because I don't understand how they did that.

"That's the real threat. If you didn't know, Stylish has been assassinated by Night Raid barely two days ago for feeling overconfident."

There it is. Act surprised. But, she knows you don't like him so...

"What, did he find Night Raid's base, attacked it, and somehow think it was going to work?" Maybe I shouldn't make jokes about dead people.

Nah, as long as Esdese doesn't care.

"...In any case, we've learnt that you can't be confident around them." Wait, you mean you can? "By the way, Tatsumi. You should at least pretend to not be looking." Huh?

"I was looking at the tattoo!" BUSTED. "H-Have some decency! At least hit me or som- Never mind." I took some steps back as I said those words. The last thing I need is to bring up her sadist side.

"Being like that doesn't suit you too well. Maybe it's my fault?" She uttered thoughtful.

Of course it's your fault! I-I-I have to see those things every night and it goes against my morale to do anything! B-But I wasn't looking at that. Maybe. Perhaps.

Say something!

"That was why... I was training my willpower." Huh. Never thought those words would have some kind of sense.

"You want to build up your mental strength?" She said in a curious tone. Did she really believe that?

"Y-Yes." I knew something had changed in her stance, but I didn't know what. It was scary. Scary and...

"Fine then. I'll help you." She told me in an assertive but gentle voice. "If I let you go like this, you'd go to a brothel or worse." Wait, you practically control my schedule!

That's not a good reasoning. Besides, I went to a brothel once. Killed or arrested most guards though. And then there was this girl who... Oh wait, that didn't make it to the chapter.

"Help in what way?" I felt slightly embarrassed saying those words.

G-Giving me a hand? Yeah... hand... or lips... or breasts... or armpit? Knees?!

STOP! IT!

"If I told you, then there goes the surprise." She said in a seductive way.

I feel like crying right now.

"You're making it more difficult than it should be. I was kind of joking with that..." My curiosity says to let her surprise me. My common sense tells me that it won't be that bad. And my moral compass is telling me to get the hell out of here.

"Well that's too bad. Because I was actually thinking of training your mental strength." She said disappointed. "Oh, but for confessing your lies. I actually have a present for you!"

"The book?!" My happiness just skyrocketed!

"No. A sword!" She said while clapping her hands together. She acts like a youngster sometimes...

"Huh... Alright, it's not that ba- Where are you going?" I saw her walking down the dirt path before stopping.

"Stay here or the wrath of the heavens will fall upon you, my fancy knight." What's that supposed to mean?!

I watched her leaving the garden happily as I just stood there like an idiot. I'm all for presents, but I'm scared is going to be a dead rat. Like cats.

Stop with the cats.

Although I forgot something about cats. They're also ninjas.

"Ninjas...!"

I detected something behind me too late, and suddenly something covered my eyes.

"Surprise! Guess who?" When I recognized the voice, I felt ready to kill a platypus.

Damn that alchemist and her stupid reasoning to violate me...! Why is Dorothea appear when I least expect it?!

"A blackmailer." Shit, I don't have any weapons.

How long is forever? Sometimes one second. I'd like to feel that with love, but just the thought of getting my eyes plucked was enough for that.

"You are the one who lets me. I don't know what you're talking about." She removed her hands from my face and I hastily took some distance between us.

I don't let you! That's what blackmailing is!

"You know I will kill you when I have the chance." I stated as I tried to look for some kind of weapon.

A branch? A leaf to the eyes? Dirt?

"Oh, please. It's your fault this happened, so you should take responsibility. In fact, I think you should be grateful!" She said in cheerful tone.

"What are you talking about?" She's just trying to psyche me out. Nothing else. I don't need to hear her.

"Your blood awakened something inside me, so if it wasn't for that, you and your lover would be dead." A cold hearted smile was enough to tell me her intentions.

Me and my lover? I guess she means Mein...? She's making it sound like sound like I have a debt to pay. But... what she's saying is true. And that pisses me off!

"She doesn't have anything to do with this. It's a matter between you and me." Unless she wants to kill you, which will probably happen. Then she has something to do with this.

"That reminds me... I saw how Esdese acts so boldly around you. If you have her willing to do anything, why were you with that girl?"

She really believes that I'm some kind of relation with Mein? Why? I did what any person would do, regardless of gender or blood ties. Maybe I did go a bit overboard... But I wasn't going to let that happen if I could do something. And I couldn't. Now I feel embarrassed again...

I was warped back to reality as I felt her chest pressed against my arm.

"Ooh? You like small breasts? Is that why you like that girl?" Stop rubbing yourself against me...

Seeing the situation I was in, the first idea that popped in my head was to let Esdese come and put an ice bullet in her head. It'd be called jealousy strike.

"At least she has more chest than you..."

It was at that moment, where I learnt a valuable lesson about my position with this girl.

I'd say I was surprised about getting punched in the gut, but now that I think about it, Mein does have more... Ha! Insecurities.

I wasn't sure if she was going to beat me up, but dismissing the pain I tried to defend myself to little to no avail. Why is she so strong...? She might not even have any skill in battle, but that strength just topples everything! That girl can't be older than me, she looks even younger! How?!

I tried to attack, but she was too close to me and I tripped, feeling backwards.

As soon as I attempted to get up, I completely froze myself when I saw her leg just stepping over my crotch.

"Next time I'll crush them." Her emotionless expression told me she was absolutely serious. "Don't you have something to say?"

"L-Let's not get crazy..." She has heels, alright?! I really don't want to be stabbed there!

That wasn't the answer she was expecting, and she used even more strength with her leg.

Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain! Pain!

Why do I have a weak spot?! It's impossible to make it disappear too...! Now I have to tell her I'm sorry?

...Fuck! I don't want to follow her orders but...! Endure it...!

"Sorry..." I said under my breath.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you." I could even see how she was restraining her own laughter.

I shouldn't enjoy someone's death again. I'll make an exception. Again. Stylish messed with my emotions, and she is teasing... pretty much that too. But with the spice of lust.

"I said... I'm sorry." Not even Esdese has brought me this low...

"Was that so hard? But now you'll need a punishment, or you'll never learn."

She looked around for a brief moment, before giving me an indecent smile. I don't like where this is going.

...Well. How much time has it been since Esdese left? A minute? Shit. COME BACK ALREADY AND KILL THIS GIRL!

"I wonder who will come first. Esdese or you?" A strange feeling went through my body as she rubbed her feet against me.

I could surrender to my senses, or I could fight. Kind of an obvious answer.

...Alright, I can feel some grass here... leaves... flower...! There isn't any dry dirt here?! I was planning to throwing it to her face! Other plan, plan!

Eh... Eh...

"I can't believe you're still a virgin with that woman around... Were you saving up for me? That's so nice..." Ignore her.

Let's calm down. With just her feet she isn't going to do anything. I mean, I still have my clothes, and the fear of being a eunuch is still here.

...Maybe she's doing something, but that's not enough.

I'm still counting on the Esdese card.

"Gee, you're pitiful. How does my feet feel, eh?" Stop saying those things. Stop rubbing me. STOP BREATHING!

Let's see... Forget the situation. I just need to wait for a jealousy attack from Esdese. Obviously, in this position there can't be any misunderstanding. At least I don't feel that good... Em, don't feel good at all.

Maybe I can last... eh... I don't know... If she doesn't do anything else, long enough.

So let's just meditate for the time being, and don't. Feel. Anything. Did you get that body? No? Screw you.

But! But. If I have any chance of escape, I'm going to abuse the hell out of it!

"If we end this... will you leave me alone?" I suddenly said.

"Maybe. That means you're starting to enjoy this? Then I guess I'll have to stop."

You can't believe how relived I felt as she removed her feet from me... Well, it was mixed with some frustration, but not enough to make me suffer.

I got up in almost no time, and took some steps back once again. Alright, freedom!

"After what you said, you don't deserve anything... You are the one who has to make me fe- Oi! Get back here!"

I started running as fast as I could, not even looking back. You made the mistake of releasing me you big... small girl!

Honestly, I don't even know if she was following me. But I'm not staying around! Maybe this was a mistake, but as I am right now, I'm sure I would have surrender sooner than expected.

My lungs seem to be doing fine, but I don't want to relapse.

I was about to leave the gardens when I spotted a much better option for my survival.

"Kurome!" It was pretty much the first time I ever talked to her. But she's probably the strongest Jaeger, if we don't count the overpowered General.

She was looking at some roses, not stopping eating her strange looking cookies. I don't know if I'm scared of her, or just intimidated. If Wave manages to talk to her, I'm sure I can too.

I wasn't too sure if she had heard me, but as I approached her it was obvious I had disturbed her peace.

"...This might sound strange, but could you please stay with me until Esdese returns?" I tried to sound as calm as possible, even if I was still agitated.

"Enjoying your crops?" She didn't even turn to face me. Are those roses so pretty...?

"...Pardon?" She leaned over to look at the Alba roses which were blooming with intensity. She smelled the scent and pulled away, as if not expecting the dull smell.

"You reap what you sow." I'm afraid I don't follow...

Bored of the flowers she was watching, she started to look for her new target. She focused into an orange tree, specifically its blossoms.

I followed her silently, not really trying to comprehend what she meant.

"So... where's Wave?" I don't intend to be happy friends, but questions are questions.

"With Ran." Well, thanks. That surely answers my questions. "Gathering evidence."

"...For what?" Even if I asked, she didn't answer.

Probably... about Stylish, but I shouldn't jump into conclusions. Even if they go there, I didn't...

The sword is lost in the mountains, probably covered in snow. But the handgun... No, calm down. That gun, although not common, didn't have any specific traits that could relate it to me. He wasn't even killed by...

Let's not think about that... Think about...

Oh shit, invisibility cloak! Dorothea surely has one of those. What if she freaking jump attacks me out of nowhere?!

"K-Kurome." I got closer to her, but not enough to make her uncomfortable. I hope. "You like flowers?"

I'll admit it, I don't know what to talk about with her.

"No." She admitted, not losing sight of the blooming tree in front of her.

"Eh... And why are you here?" I pointed out the obvious incoherence, but she didn't look fazed.

"I was taking it for a walk." She showed me her katana, but didn't look at me. What a weird girl.

"Seriously?"

"No." Is she... Is she mocking me? She has some strange humor... I mean, what kind of freak talks to swords...? I did once. It was a fluke.

I awkwardly laughed for a brief moment, unsure of what my reaction should be.

Part of me was really tempted to talk about her sister, but as I'm oblivious of their relation, it's not wise to mention it. Maybe I say her name and she goes into a rampage or something.

...And then she'll kill Dorothea...!

"You... You look a lot like the girl from the posters. Are you related or something...?" I heard her munching down another cookie before answering.

"Probably."

...So she isn't going to tell me or what?

"Ohm... You can tell me, you know. I'll probably end up knowing anyways, so it will be better if you just tell me." Did I sound too pushy or...

She turned around and looked at me straight in the eyes, not showing any emotions.

"What about you?" Her expression is cold and fierce. "Don't you have something to tell us?" She glared at me with keen eyes I had never experienced.

Yes, you do.

Though without saying it, that's what she means.

There's no way she can know about me killing Stylish. She must be referring to something else.

"Well, huh... I'm not sure what you mean." I felt my heart starting to pound more heavily, as if knowing what was going to happen.

"You don't? That's a shame... Because I saw what you did. I saw every little thing."

She isn't threatening me. She is stating a fact.

What... How does she...

No, no. T-There must be some other explication. She's just suspecting me of something, and is trying to make me fall into her trap. That's right. There was nobody else except Night Raid, Dorothea and Syura. If she was somehow there too, she would have intervened. And we damn sure know I killed that guy, Akame is still alive and so is Kurome.

"T-Those things are personal, you know..." Don't worry, Tatsumi...

"Plumbing is personal. That's true."

My heart skipped a beat as she said those words. It wasn't random quote. How does she know... I used... a pipe...?

"...What are...?" My mind couldn't make up any words.

"I love my sister so much, that I'll have to kill her!" As if completely negating what she was telling me, she suddenly answered my first question.

What...

What?

"Ah, there you are!"

That's impossible. No, what? How...? But... when? She... She wasn't there. Even if I didn't sense her, Akame, Mein and that other girl surely could have! It's impossible!

It's just in my head.

It's just in my head!

It's just in my head!

Nothing happened. Nothing happened! T-This was just an illusion! I-I was flawless!

That's right... But if there's another witness, then I'll have to kill her too.

N-No, how do I know? If she wanted to kill her sister, they would have fought! T-That's right. That's it, t-this conversation wa_s_ just _i_n my head. It's impossible, s-so...

Who am I? What am I?! I'm the knight of...

Why is this happening?!

"Tatsumi?"

That's right... calm down... I'm not crazy. I-I'm sick, so I had just a bit of a relapse from running. That's it...

Nothing... happened.

Now... There was somebody talking to me, was there?

I... think I preferred being with Dorothea, hahaha... Just a little bit of karma. That's what happened.

I didn't realize that Esdese had already returned, and she looked worried about my eh... sudden fall to the abyss.

"You look pale... Maybe it wasn't a good idea to go out?" She pondered to herself. I'm unsure if she wanted to think that and accidentally said it, or she's actually talking to me.

"It was just... I saw a wasp! Those things are very violent, so I just stood in place. They're not like bees..." Getting a bit rusty with those lies...

I'm sure she saw through my lie, but chose not to say anything.

The only person I know I can trust is her... so if we can bond somehow, she'll only believe me. Then I won't have to worry about Dorothea, Kurome or just Death itself. I don't care if I'm manipulating her. I have to make everyone's wishes true. And that means staying alive.

"Here, I'm sure you wondered what I did with it." I had noticed that she had a familiar sword in her hand, but I didn't care at the moment.

I looked over at the sword she handed me. The blade was covered in cloth, but there was something in the handle that gave away the identity.

This is... the teigu I kind of stole from Night Raid unwillingly. Does she know what this is, and is that the reason she eh... appropriate it?

As I felt the crossed jewel looking at me, I felt a faint ache in my head.

"Ah... thank you."

I have to make her trust so... em... respond to her feelings? I'll kiss...

No, hug! HUG!

Maybe I was a bit too quick in the trigger there, and probably completely suspicious. But as Esdese doesn't completely know me yet, she might not even care! Besides, eh... Ahem.

I felt torn between enjoying the hug, or fearing the outcome.

You could eh... return the hug. I mean, you're all soft and all, but it kind of feels off. Huh... maybe she didn't expect it.

"So much for training your willpower..." Was she disappointed or excited?

Huh. Completely forgot about that whole willpower thing.

"I was being grateful." I tried to step back as she said those words, but she didn't let me. Alright... can't say I don't like it...

That's strange. I'm pretty sure Kurome was right about... Oh, there she is. She isn't even looking at us.

It was just an illusion...

Illusion...

* * *

After finally eating _real _food for the first time in months, my mood had improved a bit. But even then I... was pretty worried.

I always beg for more free time for myself, so after acting so caring with Esdese she willingly gave me free time. Maybe it had to do with a meeting she's been talking about.

You see, the ground forces of the Empire have three armies. There were more but... Kind of defected. Great General Budou, besides being the head of the Imperial Guard, is the head of the ground forces. That would be the Emperor's job but he's still a child... Budou might be on par with Esdese, but he can't be in all places.

So with Esdese's army resting, and Budou's army dealing with the south... The third army must deal with all the burden of the independent uprisings.

Why am I telling you this? Because I'm in said army. I don't know when, but I'll be forced to fight partisans, rebels and probably the Revolution.

What good times to be alive in. Well, at least I'll get promotions.

In any case... Yeah... Regarding Kurome...

Or I was mentally instable and nothing bad was happening, or everything is going south and I'm not crazy. Either way, it is very bad.

But it just... How did that happen? It's impossible... Have I been in a trap this whole time? Do they know...?

No, no... let's not jump into assumptions.

Damn... This day can't possibly get any worse. At the bright side, I can act normally.

I looked over at the hallway in front of me, and sprinted all the way down.

Good... I just have to leave the Palace. I'll be free, and everyone will be happy. I have to dodge Dorothea, so acting stealthy is necessary. Until I find people. I'm not sure, but she might not act with people around.

Before I realized it, I had already reached the entrance. It was the first time I felt happy of seeing those big columns.

I let out a small laugh as I looked over to the guards patrolling the entrance. Yeah, attack me now bitch!

Freedom, here I go...!

Alright, let's commence. My steps towards the scheme of a coup start as soon as I leave this palace.

I'll need to create a retinue. People I can rely on to do the dirty work. My uprising needs to start slowly... and then, with enough manpower and hopefully Esdese's support... The Emperor will peacefully give me the crown.

But let's not jump into assumptions yet.

After all, I need to be strong enough to, at least, fight on par with Wave. Who knows what his teigu is...

I felt someone grabbing my collar and almost throwing me into a pillar before I stopped in something soft. I swear I could feel something just in front of me.

I was so wound up in thinking that I hadn't reacted in time.

My hand instinctively grabbed my sword but I wasn't able to pull it out in time. And now that phrase has double meaning considering the situation I'm in.

Dorothea just had to ruin my day even more. I hate everyone.

She just popped out of nowhere, invisibility potion-cape-spell or something. I don't care which.

"What a troublesome man you are. I thought you'd be willing to cooperate. Or maybe do you want me to confess?" By every word the alchemist said, she just pissed me off even more.

Shit... If I'm not able to kill her then... No, I can't kill her now. I'm not sure if I can do a fatal blow on her. Besides now with all these guards around I...

GAAAH! Why does this happen to me?! I just trapped myself!

"...There's no need for that... What do you want?" The entrance just got too silent...

The guards who are patrolling can't see us from this angle...

Damn clever girl. Using her stupid experiments to make my life a living hell. What's next after a invisibility cape? A wand? The chosen one appearing out of nowhere? Or a potion that makes me into someone else? Wait, where's the Whomping willow?!

"I'm hungry." Wha.

"Eh..." I really shouldn't respond. But I like my balls where they are. "W-What do you want to eat?"

Please not me! Please not me! Please not me!

Seeing her ogling me with a creepy smile told me that I was starter, main course and dessert.

L-Let's check possible outcomes. If I try to escape, I'll be fucked. If I stay, I'm fucked. If I try to use the sword... Yeah, fucked too.

Trying to hold on the last bit of self dignity that I had, I have to just... well, at least not make it easy? No, I have to end this quickly... The less time I spend with her, the better.

But... erm... Couldn't she... you know, not do it in the middle of the entrance? People pass through here too! I don't want to be caught for obvious reasons.

She noticed my obvious discontent for the location and pressed her body against me. I could feel the heat coming from her chest, along with perfume mixed with her natural scent.

...Body, please. No.

"Well, what punishment do you want?" She said happily.

"Punishment...?" No torture please. If I get any noticeable wound then... Shit.

"How about..." She looked at me for a second before snapping her fingers. "I'll piss on you!"

Eh... Would you mind repeating that?

"What?" Why?! What?! HOW?!

"Oh! Even better! Drink it!" Her excitement started to scare me.

When she said "mess with me", I thought at least I'd feel a bit good. BUT THAT'S NOT IT. I'm going to get even more sick! I'll puke! That's unhealthy!

"T-That's... no, I don't want to!" I uttered with faint determination. I can't... I can't just say yes to everything!

We are free to do as we want, but even then rules _must _exist. What would be stopping me of murdering everyone then, or just do what she's doing?

Humans have their own dignity, moral and values. If I'm a human then I must fight to escape from her tyranny. Just as I'm trying to do with the Empire.

"What is it? Do you have anything to say? I'm really good at listening. Really, really good." I don't think we have the same definition of the verb hear!

She knows I won't do anything. If you told me that her switch is stuck and she's always turned on, I'd believe you in no time.

"You've been naughty, Dorei. Very naughty. A naughty, naughty boy." She brought her face near mine. Too close...

D-Dorei...? Is that me?

"Stop saying naughty." Ah crap, not again. Natural reaction! Natural!

"You ran away from me... That's naughty."

I felt her warm breath on my face.

I don't feel anything happy about that.

She's going to rip my nose off...! If didn't have a fair amount of self control, I'd be shaking right now.

Even then, she smiles as if she saw through my emotions.

Our noses almost touched and 'persuaded' me as if trying to steal my soul.

I won't lie. I was pretty scared of looking at her eyes, so I just averted them. The fact that she knows that is even more frightening.

I was afraid of swallowing my saliva, because that would create the minimal sound to set everything off.

After a brief pause that felt like forever, she opened her mouth.

"You're so easy to manipulate." I sighed relieved as she finally took a step back.

That was too intense. And she didn't even do anything.

I acted so submissive... shit. I don't have anything yet. I don't have any weapons to fight against her... And I don't mean swords and guns. I have to find something, but what?

I really want to kick the crap out of her, but I'll die. This is so frustrating! I'm not a dog! I'm not a sex slave! I'm my own person! And I can't do anything to break free from this. I have to get stronger, before she gets bored of me. But how? I'm not... skilled in these things and I'm sure I'll screw up something.

I was about to say something when I heard the echo of voices from the entrance. Aren't they...?

"I suggest you to be good boy." She said before turning around to face my saviors.

Wave and Ran apparently had already come back from, I suspect, Stylish's lab, bringing some boxes along with them. It seemed that they were talking about something before they saw us.

I think I'm a little too close to Dorothea, but not enough to make any misunderstandings.

I will... try to escape without making her mad, so I have to make subtle warnings like... YELLING A LOT.

"Have you recovered already? That was fast." Wave greeted me before exchanging a glare with Dorothea.

Yeah, hate that girl!

"I'm a fast healer. Ah... What are you carrying in those boxes?" I greeted Ran with my hand as he didn't talk at all.

He used one of his usual smiles before saying anything else.

"Evidence. Everything between gadgets to bones and meat." Ran said casually.

"You should have seen the mess Night Raid made. I've never seen that much blood since... Well, but we managed to salvage some of his investigation." Wave interjected.

I felt a knot in my stomach as soon as I heard the word 'investigation'. It must be something else, nothing related to her...

"Oh, oh! Did you find my ribbon?" The alchemist suddenly said getting even closer to me. Please, don't hold my hand or anything...

Wait, she lost that thing? I didn't even notice. I remember she had it when I attacked her... It's possible that I somehow knocked it off when I tackled her.

Looks like I did some good with that.

"...Well, we found a hair band. Ah, was it a turquoise ribbon?" Wave said in a passive tone. That's weird for him.

Hair band... it may be from Mein.

"Yes!"

"It's probably back in the carriage. We just thought it was of somebody from Night Raid." No, stop being nice to her! She's a frigging witch!

Wait, yes! Go get that ribbon and leave me alone! That way I'll be with Esdese once more. Which also bad, considering that she probably knows...

"See Dorei? You should be more obedient like him." I was suddenly the center of the conversation. Don't look at me!

Wait, Dorei? The hell is that name?! She's making it sound like I have an affair with her. Just laugh awkwardly! It's still savable!

"Y-Yeah, I'll listen to Esdese with much more respect..." A nervous laugh followed my words. I meant to say attention, not respect!

At least it makes sense. But I'm literally screaming in my head.

"What were you two doing here anyways?" Wave asked way more lively than before. He's asking with normal curiosity, meaning it doesn't seem anything too suspicious... that's relief.

Now you have the answer, so just tell that lie wit-

"Oh, he was just telling me he was going to take a shower." My stress suddenly went off the charts when I heard Dorothea talk.

"Eh... Alright...?" Good thing that Wave is-

"It means that he wanted me to p-" I covered her mouth with my hand before she could say anything else.

Well, shit. DON'T EXPLAIN THAT!

"Y-You two have a lot of things to do, so..."I tried to make something up very quickly. My lie obviously didn't work, as Wave averted his eyes while scratching the back of his head.

"Eh... right. Well, we have to bring these..." Awkward...

I looked at Ran who didn't look fazed by all this. In fact, he looked way too calmed. Too calmed... He's thinking something...

I pulled Dorothea out of the way to let the two of them go without a problem. Please, don't say anything to Esdese, it's already bad enough as it is...

I removed my hand from her mouth while debating with myself if I had utterly screwed myself doing this. Wave, Ran, please come back. I don't want to be alone with her!

"Jeez, your lack of discipline is annoying." She pouted without losing her narcissist attitude.

Well, fuck you because you are annoying too.

I should really stop cussing, but she's making me do it.

Oh no, don't tell me she's trying to change me too? I have enough with Esdese! At least she has some attributes and kindness!

"Oh, I almost forgot." I heard Ran talking to me, just before he cut the corner.

"You need help? I can help!" Work with me in this one!

"There's no need. But remember we agreed to meet up before twilight." Don't say that...

But we haven't even talked since... Huh, is there something he wants to talk about? What is he hiding now behind that smile?

"Y-Yeah, of course I remember." I'm completely oblivious of what his intentions are, but I guess he's still the one with most odds to be an ally. I'll take his offer...

"Well, enjoy yourselves." What's that supposed to mean?!

And that's how hope was obliterated. I can't kill this girl at this moment, and the only ones who could get me out of this situation just left. Maybe if I sneak out while she's distracted like last time...

Shit, shit, shit! I don't want to, I really don't want to. Maybe if I just beg...

_"Didn't you say something like... I'll never bow down to anyone again?" _ A voice started talking beside me. Please, don't be Seryu.

You are absolutely right.

You know what? Why am I still caring about what happens to me? Really, this could have turned out very, very bad. I'd be dead if it wasn't for my blood, but I'm not grateful for that.

I just have to take advantage of this. She _will _slip up someday, and in that moment, I'll leave this cage to never return.

Doesn't mean that I agree to getting golden showered like a toilet though.

"Come on, come on! Let's do it behind the curtains!" She suddenly grabbed my hand and started dragging me around.

"What curtains? Do what?!" I don't even know what she's saying specifically. Her stupid decision pattern is a freaking roulette.

"No, wait! Restroom! Restroom!" Why is she so excited suddenly?!

"..." What is even happening?

Just keep moving everywhere. Chances are we'll meet up with somebody strong enough to threaten her.

_"What about a balcony?" _

That voice is still here? My god, cliché overload.

I almost crashed into her as I was a bit too occupied thinking of stupid things.

"I know!"

She pulled me closer to her and surrounded both of us in some kind of cloth. For some reason, everything around us looked foggy, but still a bit clear.

"How do you even make an invisibility cloak..." And now my mind started to turn some gears.

Oh no. She's going to pull me into some room with lots of people and then...

"Here in the entrance!" And she's going crazy with the thought.

_"How much time before you start groping her?" _

... I know your purpose, stupid voice! You're not going to make things more awkward than they are! Because I'm not submitting to those inner thoughts wh-

"Here, here. Against this wall." She ordered me as we started moving. I had to stick close to her, which made walking very uncomfortable.

...Damn it voice, this is what you meant...?

This is really happening, huh... Well.

You know, normally I end up getting saved by someone. When I try to help someone, turns out I still need to be saved.

So, you know. Can that happen again?

Agh... let's just get this over with...

Wait a second. I remember clearly something about, "not deserving enjoyment". What was that supposed to mean?

Huh... Not losing anything this day, I guess.

I love how I state the obvious with such a sense of discovery.

_"I feel like... very sorry for you. I mean, let's just hope she doesn't gonorrhea or something. Oh wait, syphilis! That's way more fun. It can get in your mouth too!" _

AAAAHHHHH!

"Y-You don't have any disease or something, right?!" Alright, alright. If I plan this with extreme precision, I can get the fuck out!

"Huh? A flower like me is absolutely harmless" What's that supposed to mean?! Are you a chrysanthemum? Because that's the only flower I'd think of.

Or maybe she means that...

"I refuse to believe you're a virgin!" Just what is today...

"I don't remember saying you could talk." Is that a yes or a no?! "I have to be beautiful in every aspect, so of course I'm completely healthy."

She really only cares about herself.

Agh... Let's just get this over with.

My life is miserable right now...

Seryu, please, don't think badly of me...

* * *

**What a nice person I am for ending that there. What do you think it's going to happen, you perverts! Obviously not that!**

**In any case... I'm writing this note from my tablet, so it won't be very long. Sorry for being a bit late, but I had to leave the town for some personal problems.**

**Luckily for you, next chapter should be uploaded this week. It will be centered about Night Raid which will show some... inner troubles. Nothing too serious. Or maybe it is.**

**And then, after that, special chapter! Because I'll be on vacation, and I want to rest my fingers. After this chapter, everything sounds dirty to me.**

**Sorry for not answering the reviews, it's been some rough weeks. But, I'll be back.**

**So, thank you all again. If this story carries on, it's because of you all! Kisses and hugs for everyone! I hope it doesn't sound too awkward.**

**And... this arc is coming to an end in three chapters, and a new and more action-happy times will appear with it. But first... do you think you've met the Enslaved soldier? Or perhaps it was in plural?**


	18. Tangled Strings

**Let's be honest, a Full Metal Alchemist reference was to be expected.**

**WAR ON ... NO MORE ABUSE FROM THOSE THREE DOTS.**

* * *

**Night Raid Interlude**

_**Tangled Strings**_

* * *

**A/N: Don't forget that the Night Raid centric chapters are from Lubbock's POV. **

Have you ever heard about the red string of fate? Apparently, whoever you're connected to is your soul mate. I'm pretty cynical when it comes to these topics, but this story really comes in handy for my current situation.

You see, I'm not blind. I know Najenda doesn't exactly love me like I do. She might care for me, but I know this is a one sided love. That red string must be tangled around my neck, because the moment I take an approach it will suffocate and kill me.

It's fine like this though. That red string might not work for her, or it simply goes to some other guy. As long as I don't give up, I'll be happy.

Of course, I didn't take into account being absolutely demolished by a justice psycho. I don't know what happened afterwards, but I've been recovering for three weeks and another three to regain some strength. Luckily my lungs have healed, my bones are strong as ever and my beautiful face is still here.

I made such an amateur mistake and that was the price.

But, I have to get back in shape! Even if I really wasn't back then, some physical therapy and voila! I'll be back at 200%!

Which brings me to the situation I'm in. And that situation is!

"F-Fif...Fifty...!" No more pushups!

That situation is being dead from exercise.

My body isn't ready for workout. I think that fifty is already extraordinary with this heat. Why I decided to train outside goes beyond my imagination. It's already June, so the summer solstice is just around the corner.

Since the gang is gone to finish up Stylish, Najenda has been monitoring my rehabilitation. That would bring joy in my heart if it wasn't for my extremely bad body condition. Even if my lungs healed, I won't be able to run a lot. They get tired way too quickly now.

But that doesn't matter. I'm supposed to be an assassin, not a warrior. In fact, even if there's a fight, I'm usually the support guy who jumps in at the last second if things go bad. So practically, never.

I took the liberty of rearranging my alarm system around the base. My threads should circle around the whole base now. Which means that I feel a small vibration every now and then. However, nobody is mad enough to attack an assassin base. I mean, whoever does that is stupid. Or Esdese.

When we go out in missions, it'd be stupid to leave a gap open for us to enter or leave. So I tell Leone, or whoever is in charge of the operation, where one specific string lays. And then she'll have to play Blitzkrieg Bo-

Well, maybe not that song. A certain tune.

In any case... I'm not doing more exercise. Najenda is not even here, why was I training?! I should have held back and say the good ol' a thousand trick. Blatantly obvious but efficient.

As my breath returned to normal, I stretched myself and looked at my shirt for a moment. I should get rid of the sweat first. Didn't I bring a towel for this?

Oh, there it is.

And the top priority is putting back my handy teigu.

"Damn twatwaffle. What now!" As soon as my teigu returned to me, I felt a slight vibration in the eastern section. I swear to god, if this is another fucking boar, I'm going to eat that son of a-

Those aren't random vibrations. It's quite a nice song.

Huh. That's actually a good interpretation of Hallelujah.

So that's Su. He's the only one actually uses the whole melody. That means they're back.

I just feel two of them coming. Probably Leone and Susanoo. Just because those two are the ones with more weight. She'd kick my ass for that.

I should probably inform Najenda ipso facto.

* * *

"Oh? A welcoming party? Where's the cake and banners?" Leone greeted me as soon as she entered the base. She doesn't seem to be in a bad mood, which means good things.

"Only if you're paying." Or just punch me. It usually ends like that too.

"I had to deal with dog people, so you better don't lose this." She threw me a pair of gloves and I let her pass inside. There it goes what I said about the good mood.

So this is Stylish's teigu. It improves your hands or something like that, can't remember. Girls must be wishing for these thingies.

Ahem...

I forgot to ask about Akame and Mein. They're probably fine anyways.

"Hey, Su! Where are Akame an- Why are you bringing a jar of tar?" He stared at my soul for a moment before answering.

"Teigu." That explains _everything._

"I see."I don't see it. "What, does it make the desserts tastier?" Now that I have a better look, it seems like jelly.

Wait, teigu? What? How? I have so many questions!

"No." He passed beside me and left me alone in the entrance.

I hate him sometimes. Give me straight answers, but not that oblivious! Wait, don't get close to Najenda now! I'm the chosen one!

Just as I was about to follow him, I felt another two people coming. Oh come on!

They were so close, and they didn't even come together? Huh, that's weird. Maybe they got separated, and they left at different times.

Yeah, being angry with each other doesn't really make sense. Besides, if Leone was mad, I'd definitely know. She's too obvious.

"I didn't know you cared so much about those two." I almost had a heart attack when I heard another voice behind me.

"Holy hell Chelsea! Stop doing that!" I inevitably took some steps back as I saw her twirling her lock of hair around.

"Stop what? You're the one relying on the those threads too much." She said without sugar coating the words.

She's so direct sometimes that it unnerves me. Worst thing is that she's right.

"Sometimes I really want to hit you." I said to the newcomer while focusing on the entrance again.

"If it makes you happy, I want to hit you too. Especially when you start peeking while I-"

"Fine, fine. That was just once. I wanted to see if your skills were in check." That's it Lubbo, keep those excuses at their maximum.

"And I was checking if yours were in check too. Now we're at peace." She removed the lollipop stick she had eaten, and looked at it with gloom.

"Don't you dare throwing that thing down." I told her before she could do anything else.

"What if I do?" She smiled as she extended her arm forward, threatening the pure, clean ground below her.

"Are you sure you want to know, pretty girl?" I can't be tempted like that, you know?

Putting away the glove teigu, I started to move threads. Sadly, I noticed something else.

"Hey, Akame!" I noticed the black haired entering the base as I was about to retaliate.

You were lucky, Chelsea. I guess Stamford bridge won't fall today.

"You're lively." I certainly didn't expect a compliment... That's weird for her. Because that's a compliment, right?

"Leone and Su just arrived too. How come you weren't together?"

"We didn't sleep together. I was hungry." How those two thing correlate, I don't know.

She looked satisfied with that answer and smiled at Chelsea before entering.

Whoa, whoa. Why does she get a smile? I want a smile too. I've been in bed for three weeks! Where were my smiles?!

And now I only have Mein, and she doesn't have cute smiles. I'm sure she does, but not for me. If that ever happens, she'd say something like "Lubbock-senpai, ba-baka!" and donkey punch me out of the room. At least that's how I imagine it.

With those tsundere twintails, it's the only thing that I can imagine her said. Wait, where are they?!

"Trying new hairstyles?" I said as soon as I saw her straight hair. Now, that _is _weird. That's not a tsundere look at all. She looks rather grim.

"Hello." I wasn't expecting a plain hello.

"Did you lose the hair bands? You look weird like that." That sounded way smoother in my head.

Taking a second look, I noticed she didn't have any shoes. Instead she had some improvised footwear with cloth along with some saggy pants.

"Don't ask." She apparently had read my mind, and merely pushed me aside.

Seeing her so passive was strange. Not even an insult or any kind of aggressiveness in her voice. Well, I guess we couldn't have an ace today.

Even if something happened to her, I'm not exactly the guy who can fix it... I mean, I'll help if necessary, but I'm not good enough.

"Hey, Cheru. Tell me what's wrong with her." Girls know this things. Even if those two don't really mix together too well.

"How should I know? By the way, I didn't give you permission to call me that." Chelsea pushed the topic aside like it was nothing, but a girl like her surely should have caught something.

"I'm the only one who talks this much with you. I think that gives me enough permission." This is like the fifth time I said this.

"Just because you only see me talking with you, it doesn't mean I don't speak with the others."

We started going up the stairs, going towards the meeting room. Gotta know the details of the raid!

"Ah! Chelsea, you hurt my feelings with such harsh words! My lone friend in this world doesn't like me! God! Strike me down where I stand!"

"You're an asshat sometimes." She said with a desolated sigh.

Oh, you love it.

"I'll ignore the fact that you just said asshat." I said while opening the door to the room.

The dark atmosphere of the meeting room disappeared as soon as we entered. Whatever Najenda, Leone and Su were talking about doesn't really matter. What did I miss?

"Hey Lubbo! Wanna see some magic?" I looked over to Leone, who was holding the recipient of reddish goo.

Is that so important?

"I don't know, does it make clothes disappear?" I subconsciously took a step back, but no punch came my way.

"Look." She completely ignored me and poured down the strange tar onto the ground, making a gross noise as it dripped down.

"Well, besides being disgusting, I don't se- What the fuck?"

I stared perplexed at how the goo started to gather itself on one point, shaping and climbing over itself.

"That's new." I heard Najenda say in front me.

The goo started to gain some pinkish color, before starting to resemble human skin. This is pretty weird.

Before the whole transmutation thing happened, Leone covered it with a white blanket for some reason. She's really into the whole magician thing...

"Ta-da!" She said as the goo was still moving.

A very young looking girl slowly appeared from the blanket, before covering herself with it. She looked around scared before seeing Leone, and rushed towards her. She looked rather familiar, but auburn hair isn't that strange.

"I think I'm tripping balls." That's the only thing that could explain this.

"See? The poor girl probably doesn't even know what happened to her." Leone said regretfully while caressing her lovingly.

"Explanation please?" I don't think I understand anything. Like... wow.

"Su says she's a teigu. But he also has never heard of something like her." The girl didn't look older than eight years. She doesn't even look like she can talk.

"We don't even know if she's human. Even if you found her in that freak's lab, it doesn't mean she's a victim. Maybe she's a spy or a timing bomb. Or a spying timing bomb." I said, trying to find some logical explanation.

Before she answered, Leone covered the girl's ears as if to not let her know of something.

"Pretty sure she's the one who killed Stylish."

"Come on, we don't even know if she can hear us." I retorted back.

"I'd be pretty upset if I killed someone when I was so innocent, you know?" She replied upset, as if I was the one who wasn't human.

"Alright, fine. Let's see." I kneeled down next to the girl, who didn't seem to like me."I'm not going to say anything bad, alright? Just some questions."

"Fine." She let go of the girl, who looked scared of being far from Leone. Maybe I've been a bit of a jerk. I'll be nicer.

"Hello little girl. Can you understand me?" I said in my most soothing voice.

She didn't look at me, but she nodded awkwardly.

"Damn, Lubbo. You sound like a perv. Don't tell me you're a lolicon?" Screw you, Leone.

"...Alright, what's your name?" I don't talk to kids! Najenda should be the one doing this!

The girl moved her lips, but no sound came.

"Hm... You understand me, but you can't talk. This might be a long-shot, but do you know how to draw?" It looks like she may not have vocal cords, or perhaps she's just too shy. It looks like she breathes, so she should at least make some sounds.

"Ah." She weakly said that vowel while nodding. Well, I think I'm an expert in child psychology.

I clapped to make her feel a little better, but it didn't seem to work. So at least she can draw pictures for us.

Come on, just show me an emotion, and I'll be good for the day.

"Hey girly, show me your index finger." Something's not right with this girl. I may be able to find out what it is.

Without any hesitation, she followed my order.

"Now hit Leone." She didn't move from her position, obviously not obeying me.

"She isn't a machine, idiot." Leone answered for her.

Now it's not the time for her big sister nature! Maybe I'm wrong.

"Fine. I guess you don't talk. But you did tell me that you know how to draw, so how about I show you some string figures?"

Kids love cat's cradle. I think so at least. Maybe I'll show her one, and then she'll warm up a bit. Wait, I don't want to be her friend. Just being nice for the record. Then Najenda will see how I handle the next generation.

Let's see. I've done a trillion of these. I'll show something easy. By complex I mean very complex.

Using my teigu, I placed several strings together to make a good visible thread. Is this considered cheating? Maybe, but hey, if I have the resources might as well use them. After all, this is pretty much my whole arsenal.

How about... this... pinkie over here... then the index... let this go... an unsettling amount of agility and...

"Voila! A doggie!" It's pretty hard to make, but maybe I went a bit over board with this one.

"That doesn't look like a dog." Gee, she hates me today...

"It has two ears, a tail, a body and two legs. Besides she likes it." And before any of you say it! It has two legs because its in 2-D!

The girl looked very pleased with my string figure, and even clapped three times. I could even see a small smile on her.

"And if I pull from here, it moves! Bark, bark!" Eh... I didn't say that last part, did I?

A while later, I released the figure and retrieved back the threads to my teigu. That's enough babysitting for me.

As I was about to stand up, I realized she was looking my hands very closely. Before analyzing them, she looked at my eyes for the first time.

A strong feeling of deja vu filled my head. I'm sure I've seen those eyes before. But I've never seen this weird goo girl. Perhaps is this my brain trying to warm me of my decision?

Whatever it was, she definitely had felt it too. But with a whole lot of panic.

"A...Ah...Ahhh...!" The yell she was trying to let out didn't come, and she hid herself between her own arms, shaking in fear. Her hands started to get soaked in her tears, as if she had just remembered something horrible.

I somehow got up while trying to comprehend what I just did.

Oh yeah. Probably should defend myself.

"I haven't done anything I swear! She just started crying!" I tried to excuse myself, but it wasn't necessary. After all, Leone and Najenda have been looking at me. And Su is being Su, so nothing wrong with that.

"Yeah, yeah... I think it'll be better if you leave." Leone said, not trying to hurt with those words. In fact, I think this is the first time she's ever been that kind with me.

"Fine. Sorry for making kids cry, again."

I took some steps back, and looked at Najenda. Don't think ill of me!

"We need to speak." AH! No, Najenda! I didn't do anything I swear!

I looked over at Chelsea who was widely expressing that she was thinking. It also meant that I shouldn't pry. Whatever she's thinking, I don't want to be hit over it.

As we left the room, I prepared for the worst. However...

"Lubbock, I have a mission for you." I rejoiced as I heard Najenda giving me a special mission.

"Ready for anything!" Yes! Nothing for me!

"You were out of commission when this happened, but I believe you'll do just fine."Confidence! "I believe you already know about the Craftsmen district incident, right?"

"The soldiers who went berserk and attacked another district... With the Jaegers in the capital. Kind of stupid and strange." I answered.

That was a pretty stupid movement. There was nothing to be gained from that. So, why go rampage like that?

"They still had some control over themselves. Their coordination was on point, even if the battle was already decided before it began. What do you think it means?" I pondered for a second what she meant.

"We would know if it was a power from a teigu. Something that could control so many people wouldn't be left in the shadows for so long. And a drug wouldn't make anyone work in synch like that. Not that we know of." It seems like a good puzzle, we just need to find all the pieces. But it seems she already knows something.

"Exactly. That's the reason we raided Stylish's hidden laboratory. Not only he had frequented the place too much, it all began when he appeared in the capital." But even then, something is tipping me off.

"So what's the problem? He's been dealt with, so nothing like that will happen again." My answer apparently was wrong.

"That would be the case if that alchemist wasn't with him. You've seen what they've created together, so there might be a chance this whole ordeal isn't over." She explained before turning around towards the window.

I guess goo-girl is some project of Stylish and an alchemist. Seems legit.

"So, what's the mission? Because my face is kinda known in the entire capital." Now that the whole background is done, I should ask that.

"You wouldn't want to see your poster. It doesn't mean you shouldn't disguise yourself though." Wait, what? "Gather more information about the incident, and if it's possible, find the alchemist."

"...Don't we have spies to do these things?" She smiled at my comment before turning around to face me.

"If this was a simple mission, you'd be right. But I believe that your tact is perfect for this task."

"Well, if you think I'm the perfect candidate, so be it! I'll leave as soon as-"

"Tomorrow. We still have something to deal with..." I suddenly felt goosebumps trying to warn me. "I believe you should be training or did you already forget?"

Oh.

* * *

An hour later... yes, a whole hour of distress. I was sweating like a pig, filled in filth and with some sense of accomplishment trying to cheer me up.

My basic instinct told me to take a relaxing bath to lift spirits, and my other half told me to sleep. And what better option than an onsen? But maybe a shower would be better.

Yeah, a quick shower and _then _we'll relax. Do we still have water anyways?

Too many options, so little time... Bah, what's closer? The thermal waters? Then let's go.

I slugged my way across the building, only to find the despair in form of a sign.

You see, we have two onsens. One inside and one outside. And I'm not going outside. You know why? Because whoever made this damn base hadn't thought of the fact that the human race has female and male individuals! Who thought this was a good idea?!

Let's make everything unisex! I'm sure nobody wants privacy! Well, fuck you!

Now I'll have to take a cold shower, although with this heat wave it won't be that bad.

"Oh." Mein had almost bumped into me as she left the onsen. Well, at least she isn't naked.

You know, first I was worried, but now she's pissing me off. Say something else! What happened...

"You're going to have pruney fingers for life if you take a bath for so long." Not really a fact but...

"Not in the mood for jokes." She started to walk away, almost showing no emotion what's so ever.

"Fine, I already made a kid cry for today..."

Maybe she's on one of those days... Nah, she's just more pissed when that happens. Huh... Why do I know that? It's obvious sometimes, nothing else!

"A kid? What have you done?" Oh, you care about the damn girl, but you just ignore me?!

"You know, Leone didn't tell you? That goo transmutating girl of doom. Who knows what the hell she's." Mein looked at me for a moment, before nodding as if understanding whatever.

"Alright. I guess I'll see her later." I looked over at her straight hair again, before acting.

Maybe I said something else. Maybe she didn't hear it, or maybe she did and chose to ignore it. Whatever it was, I knew this day was going to be long.

"Hi."As soon as I tried to walk in, Akame left the onsen too.

"An unexpected bond, I see." They liked each other already, so it's not that much of a surprise. Chelsea and Mein would be surprising.

"I'm comforting her." Her neutral voice didn't let me understand in what way she was saying that. Erase those memories.

"Oh. That's good." I dismissed that last sentence and watched her leave with Mein. "Have fun."

In any case, I should probably not think about that. Heh...

The bath was shorter than I expected.

I tried to relax, but something was sending shivers through my spine. It was like I knew something _bad_ was going to happen today. But I ignored it. I ignored it because I wanted to escape for a bit from reality, escaping those problems, being in a happy world. But I should know, escaping from a problem won't make it disappear. It would come back worse, only to then realize, that it's too much for you to handle. Perhaps it was predeterminated. Because in that moment, something started to find its way to my brain.

"For in the next life, a flower will bloom to tell you a poem of transition; song filled with suffering, of which to grieve and moan, but never to die out… even if it is starved of sunlight."

Damn poem showing me the future. I'd like a dream sequence or foreshadowing, not some emo poetry.

Anyways, after shaking off the feeling of danger, I was left with nothing to do.

Seriously, I wanted to leave to lose some time but Najenda said no for some reason. I guess mornings are better for gathering information.

I guess I'll mess around trying to find some entertainment.

I should go and see why I make kids cry. I swear I didn't do anything. But somehow, I feel like I've seen her before. When? I don't know. It's bugging me a whole lot though.

Whatever it was, she also remembered something. But we've never met. Perhaps if we fixed the messy hair, I'll remember what the hell I should be thinking about.

Goo, huh?

Haven't I seen something like that before?

Traumatic memories, surely.

Traumatic goo?

"...That fucking helldog...!"

But I destroyed that bastard's core! It turned into goo, and never came back! Then why is that same goo here? Perhaps somebody salvaged the rests of the core? That somebody being Stylish.

He must have grabbed a poor girl and turned her into a teigu. No wonder she doesn't talk. She must be traumatized as hell. Let's just hope it was painless.

The goo must be composed of cells, because I can't explain how her body works. Whatever he did to her, it doesn't really matter anymore. But how did he activate the teigu? As far as I know, organic teigu only activate to certain people, like Susanoo reacted to Najenda.

I don't think this is necessary to say anyways. I'm the only one who has seen that goo before, so bringing painful memories won't help.

In any case, if she has the power to regenerate, we just got another powerful teigu. But she doesn't look that strong. I don't think she's supposed to melt anyways.

And that doesn't explain why she reacted like that. Maybe she remembers being a dog. Or a bi-

Alright, let's get going.

Walking through the hallways, I found Chelsea apparently waiting for me. I don't like that glare she's giving me.

"I didn't know you scared children professionally, boogeyman." And here she goes...!

"Like you'd do any better. Besides, I gathered a lot of info like that." I grumpily said as I walked past her.

"Like what? That you can't be a babysitter?" She matched her steps to mine, making it impossible to distinguish the sound. Damn assassin.

"Yes. And that I probably have killed her previous self." I sounds pretty weird saying it.

"Her previous self?" She asked more seriously. Now we're talking!

"Yeah, the teigu was called Heika.. well, the teigu that killed Sheele." My tongue doesn't seem to like saying those words.

"Pretty sure it was a dog. Perhaps seeing you up-close triggered the memories of being killed. But that raises more questions than before, doesn't it?"

Yes... She doesn't act at all like Susanoo. I don't even know who controls her, if she's a teigu. Which is pretty much confirmed. Maybe it's Leone? Or is it someone else?

"I still don't know how she activates by herself. You looked pretty thoughtful before. Do you have anything?" My words triggered a clever smile.

"How did Seryu look?"

"Well, pretty dead. I mean it's...Oooh nooo..." This day just keeps getting better. That's sarcasm, by the way.

Why didn't I think of that? Because she doesn't have a ponytail? At least it didn't take me three episodes. That explains how the hell she activates on her own. But then She's gonna kill us all!

"Thought so... I'll go for Mein. She won't want to know that after _that_." I somehow noticed that she had turned around.

"After what? Oh come on!" She wasn't there when I turned around. Don't tell me she knows why she's like that!

Whatever, let's hope Leone is still being nice to her. I don't know why she hasn't tried to kill us yet, but I won't risk it. I don't even know how I'm going to kill a kid.

Gah... saying that is uncomfortable.

Just get to Leone.

* * *

"Leone! Get away from that girl! She's the one who killed Sheele!" I contained myself to not breaking the door with a kick, but nobody will take away my yelling!

As soon as I arrived at our living room, I spotted them drawing some weird stick figures with some crayons. After yelling that, it seemed like Seryu got really scared of me and hid behind Leone again. The latter however, looked way more annoyed at me than anything.

"Yeah, I know." Huh?

"Eh? Then why are you...?" She sighed and closed her eyes before facing me again.

"Because as angry as that makes me, it's obvious she isn't the same. Besides you already killed that extremist. And it top of that, I feel like she's a victim of Stylish." At first I thought her way of thinking was completely flawed, but it was logical.

But even if she's not the same person anymore, she could regain her memory at any moment. And when that happens, I assure you I have no idea on how to kill a teigu _that has no core. _

"When did yo-"

"Yesterday. I tried to make her a ponytail, and it was kinda obvious." She explained nonchalantly. Alright, that makes a good point.

"You could have said it in the first place. Whatever. But if she's staying I'm afraid it's a bad choice. We know she remembers something, how do we prove she isn't faking anything?" I explained with a simple hand movement.

Seryu, or might I say, goo-girl stared at me with teary eyes.

Ow! Just because you're cute, you can't make me change my mind.

I covered a my mouth as I thought of something hilarious.

"Heh... It's kind of funny actually. A dog, a girl. Fused by an alchemist. What, the only thing you can say it's Edwa-" It's even funnier because I've never seen that series.

"Oh you didn't reference _that_!" Leone, in the other hand, looks like she has.

"Well, fine. The moment we know that girl is dangerous she's going to the dumpster. Besides, with emo-crazed Mein roaming around, I don't think it's a wise choice. What happened to her anyways? Was losing her hairbands so traumatizing?" I said hoping for a straight answer.

She shrugged as she looked at the girl behind her.

"I guess I can imagine what happened." She answered with a sad tone.

A straight answer would be way more satisfying than that. That just makes me even more worried. This life is already stressing enough as it is.

"...Well, if it was something that bad, shouldn't we help her? I mean, I care about her more than this goo-ghost of the past." And now I start to feel depressed! I should have gone too...

"Akame is the one who is with her. I guess we feel guilty of not being there." I wasn't even there and now I'm the one feeling guilty.

"What happened in that hidden base? I know Spooky Captain was there, who somehow didn't want to kill us and him and Mein got separated. You two entered the base, got separated and you faced the minister's prick son and Akame fought some bigass bugs." Pretty much what Najenda told me.

Now that I think about it, the girl could remember him. It was the only name I heard her say anyways.

"Well, you know he has this teigu to teleports anywhere, right? Discovered it had a pretty big flaw. A symbol appears before he finished the move, so I gave him a good greeting punch as he appeared. He probably went home to cry after that."

What was that guy doing there anyways? There's nothing that links him to Stylish...

"I thought he had went to attack Akame or Mein, so I rushed the hell out of there. I bumped into Akame afterwards, and we tried to find her. A explosion we heard before had sealed all entrances, so I just made my own. It couldn't have been more than ten minutes since we entered." That seems normal until there.

Why did you give me an exact time? Enough to time to do that.

"Please , don't tell me it's what I think it is." No wonder she's like that. I just undermined her like it was something not that strange.

"It probably is. But replace the man with a woman." Wait, wha?

"Huh. The alchemist is a girl? Man or woman, she still did something horrible to her."

I certainly didn't expect that one coming. Wait, there's something lacking here...

"Spooky Captain was with her. He could have done something!" Seryu recoiled in fear as I raised my voice.

"I thought about that too. But he was so filled with self-guilt that it was obvious he had failed. Although that doesnt justify him being an asshole."

I sighed heavily.

I just forgot that this is the world we lived in. That is happening right as we speak too...

"Let's just return to the issue here..." I tried calm myself. "What is this goo-girl capable of?"

* * *

As the night arrived, I ended my experiments on Seryu. It's not like I did some unhuman things, but I learnt that she could be very useful for our cause.

But, now I have to research the mission Najenda has entrusted me.

I had brought several books to my room, trying to find if some chemical could deteriorate your common sense to such point that you'd made such illogical acts. However, besides the Hinamizawa syndrome which hasn't been detected in the Empire, nothing can make that.

So the only logical answer is a synthetic drug made by Stylish or alchemist girl. I don't know if it's airborne or waterborne, or if it's even a liquid. Maybe I could search the sewers, but the safe bet would be to talk to our spies in the area. Although I'm sure we only have one left...

I'll leave before the sunrise, and gather as much info as I can. Then I'll show I'm way more useful than Susanoo! Yeah! I'm an assassin, not a warrior like him! Surely I'm way more useful! Suc-

The knocking on my door didn't really faze me, but as long as it isn't that girl trying to murder us all, it's not like I should worry.

"Come in." I said, not looking back. It can't be that important. There isn't any movement outside the base, and I hope there won't be. Ever.

"Do you have those glasses that magnify... objects?" At least say hello.

I must say, I was surprised to see Mein come here of all places. Totally unexpected, but it's not like I should freak out.

"Hm..." I wondered for a second if I should change my way of talking. "Pretty sure I left them in the bookstore. I have magnifying glass though."

She didn't look too sad of hearing that.

"It works, I guess." It bothered me how she spoke so passively, but I couldn't really fault her.

I warily got up from my chair and started searching for the loupe. Really, maybe I should show some support towards her. No, I must.

"You know, if you want to take your mind off... you can always read a book." That sounded very awkward. I'm not fit for this.

"I already have one." She answered way too quickly for my liking.

"Really? What is it about?" I didn't know she had any books. Maybe she got it in my bookstore? Although I'm sure there wasn't anything wrong last time I checked.

"...It's about a knight who is invited into a court, and falls in love with the two princesses there." Well, that's about ninety percent of novels anyways.

"Ah, the good old triangle of love. Don't tell me they're sisters too?" I'm following the trope here.

"Step-sisters. I think." She actually thought about her answer.

"And there's a maid!" That's just the cliché of every story! If it doesn't have one, I'll be surprised.

"No?"

"Huh... It really doesn't matter. As long as you forget about everything for some hours is all good." I handed her the magnifying glass, before asking her something else. "Why do you need this anyways?"

Are the letters so small you can't read them?

"Eh... I'm fixing something." She said while averting her eyes.

Ah, my little girl is growing up.

"Ooh? Is it a present? Perhaps it's the time I tell you about the sophisticated strings of love! You see, back in my childhood days, I gave a girl a flower! She then proceeded to shove said flower u-" It was a nice change to see her blush like that. I've never had the privilege to that.

"Shut it." She snatched the glass off my hands and stormed off the room.

Not even three seconds before, she returned.

"Um, are you going to the Capital tomorrow?" How does she know that? Wait, it's just a question.

"I might. Do you want something?" Her face is pretty known now, but my portrait is specially bad and I might be able to run around freely.

"Oh... Aha... I just wanted to accompany you." She switched her voice so quickly that it was hard to believe that was her actual intention.

Seeing how she has been all this day, this is a nice change.

"I don't really want to watch over you. Wouldn't it be better if you went with someone else?" I'm not exactly a bad companion, but I feel like I'll screw up somehow.

"It has to be you. Besides, didn't you said something about counting on you? Obey me!" She's awfully insistent. I don't remember saying any of that.

Anybody who leaves this base is noticed by me... so unless I'm drunk, I will know. Perhaps that's why she wants me to take her out. Or something like that.

"I suppose you're not using my charismatic personality to sn-"

"You're not charismatic. I'd say you're below average." She's loosing up too much on me.

"I'm at least a seven! What I was saying; what's the exact reason you want to go? If you wanted a date with me, I'm afraid I'm not available." My words didn't amuse Mein the slightest.

"...I want strawberry parfait." She pouted as she said that.

"Wha. Just for a dessert? I'm sure Su can make it for you." I don't understand her thought process. Usually girls want chocolate, not that.

"There aren't any strawberries here. And I want some." She's making me feel guilty. Sly girl.

"Fine, we'll go together. But we're leaving before sunrise, and remember to disguise yourself."If that'll make you happy, then I can't say no. I guess this is the only way I can help you recover.

"You're paying though." She said as she backed out of the room with a small smile appearing on her lips.

Sheesh... That went a whole lot better than I expected. I thought of a more tragic atmosphere around her. After enduring that, I can't comprehend what kind of thoughts she's been having. I'm sure guilt is one of them, but she isn't guilty at all! That was that strange succubus girl fault.

If she has indeed some kind of drug, alchemy thingy, it won't be my fault if I recover it and she suffers an accident.

I took care of Seryu and I will take care of this girl. I don't know how she hasn't fall in love with the great Lubbock yet. So much for having a harem.

At least there isn't some other guy in Night Raid who could steal every girl.

Unless that damn Susanoo is tricking me all along! Trying to play the "I don't have feelings" card! Well, that's not going to work my good man!

* * *

We reached the capital not too long after sunrise. I hope I don't get in trouble for getting Mein along, but this is for her sake. Even if she's acting more like normal, it isn't the same.

In any case, I took the liberty of making a disguise for me. I wasn't too sure if there were actually posters of me, so this will help.

"Did... Did you really have to cross-dress?" Mein started saying, ashamed of my disguise.

She only wore a cloak to disguise her hair, making her look like a traveler, but a bit too suspicious.

"If it works, it works. If I have to ditch the disguise, I have more clothes beneath." And in the beginning of summer, it's not a good strategy. Better than wearing cloak though.

"It's even more disturbing when you talk with that high pitch voice. How do you even...?"

"S-Senpai! The truth is, I like you more than a friend!" I tried saying while maintaining the same tone.

"That's just creepy. The voice is not that feminine... It sounds more like a constipated mouse." That cold truth didn't really affect me.

"That's enough for me."I returned to my normal voice to not damage my vocal cords too much. I'll only use that voice when talking to someone else.

As we started to get deeper in the capital, more and more voices started to drill its way to my head. The crowd was great for spies, but not so good when I have to find them. And I have to make sure that Mein doesn't run off. This was the worst decision ever.

"How are you feeling?" I asked while checking the street.

Let's see... flower accessory. Flower accessory. Find it!

"Fine." She just answered for the sake of answering.

"Nobody deserves what happened to you. I know that I'm not the best candidate, but you can also talk to me." I didn't want her to think that I didn't care, but I also didn't' want to seem annoying.

"I like you more when you act normally." She confessed, as if it seemed out of character to me.

"Well, fine. Just remember that." Better change topics. "Where do you want that dessert?" I asked.

"Hmm... Like it's your money, I guess something expensive should be good." She muttered rather loudly. You just want to end my hard earned money.

"Just because I was born a noble, it doesn't mean I have money."

Dealing with Mein should be the first issue. After satisfying whatever she wants, I'll leave her in the hidden base in the bookstore. Then I can act freely.

Seems kind of insensible, but I can't bring her along in a sewer. Mostly because I don't want to hear her complains.

But let's change that plan.

My eyes focused on a girl, isolated from the main street. After the purge from the Three Beasts, some of our spies fled or were killed. Now we have replenished those numbers, but when the incident happened only one was able to see the whole thing.

Leone had only focused into the fight of Spooky Captain and the Jaegers, but I don't need that info. I need to see how the soldiers acted.

"There's our mole." Technically she isn't a mole, but you get the drill.

"...She looks rather familiar." Mein said by my side.

I approached her, as she kept a wary eye on us. Totally normal, but I think I forgot the phrase I'm supposed to say.

"Whether history chooses to glorify them or not..." As I said that, the girl in front of me relaxed.

"...We will remember them." She answered with a weird expression.

Oh right, I was chick.

"It's a disguise. I suppose you already know why I'm here." Her stance shifted as she looked relieved with that answer.

"Yes. I was a bit nervous, considering I've never met such important people." She told us while sighing.

"Don't you worry, I tend to make that impression a lot." Meeting me even disguised, it's a great privilege.

She didn't know how to respond to that phrase.

"Eh, I thought you'd be alone." She said while pointing at Mein, whose face I couldn't see beneath her cloak.

"You wouldn't want to be alone with him." Mein attacked me behind my back. Treason!

"She'll leave soon. You wouldn't know of a place where they sell desserts?" I asked the spy, while forcing Mein to move.

Oh wow, I did not say that.

"I don't really buy those things." She answered. Oh well.

"Alright then. Disguised friend, lead the way." I could have just said her name as she has posters everywhere. But the secrecy makes it more professional, doesn't it?

Mein shot me down with a glare as she started to walk. While we were following her, I decided to ask our spy the details of the whole story.

"Well, how did the uprising happened? Was it isolated and then it escalated, or was it all a coordinated attack?" If it's the former, it means that something spread around.

The girl looked at the floor for a moment, and answered.

"I'm pretty sure it was synched. All the people acted like they had trained for that for ages." Her response wasn't that bad.

"Well, they were soldiers. Then where did it start? Was there a specific objective?"

Honestly, the only thing that makes sense is mind control. And it's probably why Najenda wanted to know the cause. However, the only teigu who had some kind of mind control was Specter, and that's in the Revolution's base.

We are sure there isn't any other teigu like that.

"I think so. I think they wanted to kill Tats- A captain from the district they attacked."

I thought there was a gay brothel in the Cloud district. I'll let you know that there is no pus-

"Here!" Mein sat down in a table, followed by us.

I thought you wanted to eat inside, not here outside. Well, at least the sun will keep us warm. Too warm.

But it's still the morning, they aren't going to serve some ice-cream paradise for her!

"Then it was an assassination attempt? Just for one man? Such a big operation for a puny captain? No, no sane man would do an operation for somebody so... insignificant.

"Yes, I believe so. First some soldiers tried to attack him on their own, but when they were fended off the attack started." Wait, that doesn't make sense.

"How did they know the assassination didn't work? Are you sure those events were related?" She looked at me rather shocked, as if she hadn't thought about that.

A waitress came our way, and asked our order. As there isn't any coffee, I didn't order anything. Mein, of course, wanted that damn strawberry parfait and our spy friend ordered green tea.

The twenty seconds the waitress was here was more than enough to think of what happened.

"No, I believe they are related. Those assassins united with some of the attackers to kill the Captain." It doesn't mean they are related though. Maybe they just had a same motive.

No, the same motive? If they aren't related, that means that they wanted to kill the captain too.

"What did the captain do in the attack? Was he surprised? Whether if those attacks were related or not, they wanted to kill the same person."

Mein perked up as if noticing something in the conversation.

"Surprised? Partly... When those guys tried to attack him, he looked calmed. But when he was informed of the widespread attack, he looked pretty shocked."

So even him didn't expect the attack?

"Go on."

"He ordered around some soldiers and was left alone. He tried to fight the Jaegers but then..." She looked very sad saying those words.

"Ah, crap. Is he Spooky Captain? That guy is freaking everywhere." I wouldn't be surprised if he suddenly appeared right now.

"Who? Why that name?" The spy said, clearly surprised of nickname.

"Eh? Because he's like a dead person walking. What about the soldiers who were attacking? Did they look normal?"

The waitress brought our order, cutting the conversation for the moment. Mein's face sparkled when she saw her meal, but I could see she was still listening to our conversation.

"Now that you say it... they looked a bit afraid. As if they didn't do it, they'd die. They did die anyways." Her words expressed pain, as if feeling disgusted of the show she watched.

"That's interesting. What if there wasn't any drug, or voodoo involved? What if Spooky Captain forced them?" Even Mein looked at me like I was nuts.

"Come on, think for a second. This guy only cares a promotion, and he's clearly strong enough to kill a hundred guys. It'd make sense to create this scenario to achieve something." I briefly explained.

"That's stupid. If they didn't complain and he killed them, he'd end up dead in a cell." The spy said.

"...Fine, new theory. It was all a plan from the Jaegers to regain the popular opinion!" I said as I waved my arms.

"Then why did the soldiers try to kill Tatsumi? It's not like they had a motive, they'd just attack everything in general." Mein shot me down again.

"Pf, sorry. I didn't know there was a Tatsumi fan club over here." I groaned as I tried to find another plausible reason.

"Wait, that makes sense." The spy-girl suddenly said.

"The fan-club?"

"No, the soldiers did have a motive. When that captain joined the army, he faced off Ogre. He died the same day he entered, and since then he has been widely hated. People thought he killed him, and there had been clashes between his soldiers and Ogre's." This girl is really something, but just because she has more info than moi.

"Sure, that makes sense. But even then it's stupid to send all the soldiers to do that relatively simple task. They could have just killed him in his sleep or poisoned him. Were they that stupid? I don't think so."

The table got silent all of a sudden. Human stupidity could answer it, but no one is so idiotic. Somebody had to be controlling them, either by a some third element or by simple blackmailing.

"Well... there was this girl who was always around him. You couldn't get close without her noticing, and she was awfully scary." Seryu, right?

"Seryu's death and the Craftmen's District incident dates are a month apart. Even if she was protecting him, they very well could have attacked him while he was all depressed. I don't know why you know so much about him, but if he can get him figured out, we might find the truth about this riddle. Is there really something so powerful to control men's heart, or is this just a well set up plan by someone unknown?" I explained while leaning into the table.

The spy took a sip of her tea as if analyzing every single detail. Mein, however, had finished the parfait and seemed satisfied enough to talk.

"I don't know if it was human nature, or if it is something magical." Mein broke her silence with some inner confidence. "But if this is revolving around Tatsumi, why don't we just ask him for help? I'm sure he will accept."

"No." An absolute no it's all that she got.

"What? I'm sure that he..."

The only person who is going to get close to Spooky Captain is Chelsea, someone who will more control over the situation.

"I only care about the long run, and believe me, this is the last thing you need." I said while locking on her. "I know firsthand what someone in your state is able to do, and even if you aren't aware of it yet, it's pretty obvious. Besides remember that right now, you're not fulfilling the requirements for a mission."

Night Raid isn't just a group of people with teigus. We don't control them, we are one with them. We are still humans, so of course we feel emotions, sadness, anger, happiness. But we still need a clear state of mind to do our missions. After what she has suffered, it will take a while before she can do anything, if she even gets over it. I know she will, but her teigu's strength comes from her emotions too.

Mein was more angry than shocked about my sudden loss of coolness. I'm not playing around, but this is for herself.

"Why are you acting professional all of a sudden? Do you think I'm weak just because that happened? I'm more than enough to just talk with him. What's so dangerous about him?!"Oh, no you didn't.

"Oh, I don't know. What about the fact that he's siding with the enemy? What about the fact that he's been all happy with the murderer of our friend? What about the fact that he stole Bulat's teigu?! Whatever he's trying to accomplish, it's obvious that he isn't trying to help us!" I tried my best to kneel my volume down to not alert anyone.

"Tsk, we're not sure he stole it! Besides, he's still the enemy of the Empire, right? Then technically he's our ally!" I merely shook my head.

"The enemy of my enemy is my enemy's enemy. No more. No less." Also known as the enemy of my enemy dies next.

I expected another disgruntled rambling of hers, she just got up from the chair, turned around and left without saying a thing.

Truth hurts a lot, eh. Sorry Mein, but you'll know soon.

Ah damn, now I have to find her.

"Ahh... Well, that was a fine spectacle for you." I said as I looked at the spy. "I feel like we're going to be on this the rest of the day, so what's your name?"

She had been staring at her cup of tea as we argued with each other, but I still feel the need to go to the sewers. I'm sure I'll find some creepy paganism cults or something.

"Eh? I'm Sayo." She said while bowing slightly. At least you got manners.

"Exotic name, I see. You can call me Lubbock." I said while getting up from the chair.

I took out some coins and left there. Maybe that's too much, but whatever.

"Oh, Rabac. Alright." She said also getting up.

"It's pronounced Lubbock." I corrected her.

"What's the difference?"

...

"I feel like we're going to get along just fine!"

* * *

I should rethink the plan of crossdressing. Running through the rooftops with a dress is annoying as hell. But this is the only way of getting shortcuts with so many people.

Obviously I'm not telling her that I'm using my teigu to catch up. It's not strange to see a girl that topples my physical condition.

"So there isn't any sign of an alchemist? That's a shame."

This girl had been in the capital for almost six months and somehow she has outlived her superiors. That can be pure skill or sheer luck. And seeing her move around, I'm not so sure about the latter.

At first I thought she'd be way more problematic with all those connections with the captain, but she seems to have a good head on her shoulders.

"There hasn't been anything strange these days. Some Jaegers returned yesterday, apparently from a trip to some mountains. Other than that, nothing worth mentioning."

"What about in the incident? Was Stylish around?" And I'm repeating myself with every detail counts.

"No, not that I know of." She stopped running, and looked back at me. "But I remember watching a girl who reminded me of those old story books..."

"Oh, was it a succubus?" If at least that alchemist girl was around, I could see some transmutation thingy happening.

"I thought those sucked life out of you." She mentioned.

"Really? I thought those were the ones who fed off semen." Maybe they did both.

"That's too descriptive for my liking..." She said while sitting down in the roof.

It was mid day already, and we hadn't found anything of relevance. Sure, now I had more info, but not a conclusive answer.

I sat down next to her, and noticed that we weren't that far out. We couldn't be higher than three levels.

"You know, someone of your skill could join the higher ranks of the Revolution easily. I'm sure it'd be way more likeable than being a spy."

"No... it's fine like this. I don't like killing people." She looked at the people passing through the streets with a taint of melancholy.

"You shouldn't. Maybe it's too much of a bet for you, but you know what they say, never gamble unless you're really into it, then just gamble." I said, clearly remembering what happened last time I gambled.

"Isn't that a horrible advice?" Maybe so.

I should go and apologize to Mein. It's obvious I can't reason with that girl while she's so messed up. Pretty much like everyone, but she's actually showing it. Nobody understands another's sorrow, and nobody another's joy.

I think I'll get rid of this stupid costume. The posters I've seen of me are absolutely horrible, and they don't even have a name. Besides, I don't like running with a dress. I mean, why?

"Speak of the devil..."

Ah, Mein. You really lack in the field of disguising. After seeing you for so long, I already know that cloaked figure is you.

Well, time to go!

"There he is, the Scary Captain."

"It's Spooky and, come on! Who's planning this shit?"

Seriously though, what the fuck? I should have brought Chelsea, and we could have recovered Bulat's teigu before twilight. He has a freaking compass for us or what?

"He looks scared." She was taken aback for that normal feeling.

"So?" My voice felt a bit crooked.

"I've never seen him like that. Something bad must have happened." Well, I don't care about that, sorry.

Huh, fear?

The soldiers were afraid...

"Hey, what if...? What if the soldiers' actions were because of fear? It's a natural feeling, and it can make us think of very stupid stuff to get out. What if some kind of drug made them scared?" I started placing piece after piece.

"I thought we already knew that?" Sayo reacted normally, nor taking her eyes out of the street.

"Yes, but this is different. It's not because somebody scared them, it's because fear grew in them! A case of paranoia! Now, if I could track down the cause everything will be dandy!"

Oh, yes. Reading all those detective books and manga served its purpose! Paranoia doesn't happen in the brisk of a moment! That's why they took months to attack him. Now, if we could harvest the cause of that paranoia, we can use it to attack the Empire from the inside!

Yeah, yeah, who's the boss now?! Suck it Susanoo! I have might as well give us victory!

"Why are you dancing? If they had paranoia then it doesn't mean someone gave it to them." That's what I thought!

"Exactly! Spooky Captain might be the cause of the paranoia, if there's indeed no other external cause. If we're able to make the Empire against him _while _the Revolution takes place, we might have a greater chance of succeeding. Am I awesome, or am I awesome?"

This. This was a goooood day.

"I thought you said it was an alchemist. Oh, and your friend doesn't seem to share your idea."

Well, if it was indeed the work of an alchemist, it doesn't mean the outcome will change. We just won't need Spooky.

"That stupid girl! Don't talk to him! Since when have they been talking?" I almost snapped my neck as I stared at Sayo.

"Since you said 'What if'." I facepalmed as I heard that.

"Buff... I don't know how to feel about that."

Whatever they're talking about, it doesn't seem too happy. Oh, never mind.

A weirdly familiar soldier approached them, and started talking to the Captain. Whatever he said, it was very bad for him.

"And they're running. Let's hope that somebody is following them, or I will cut his fingers."

I might be trigger happy, but if that guy touches her, I might not have a lot of mercy. Taking advantage of her confidence for that it's just asking to die.

"R-Really? Isn't that a bit too harsh?" Sayo said as her face turned blank.

"Technically, I killed a girl he liked. So I guess we're even."

* * *

**Well, now we got that out of the way.**

**Writting Lubbock is WAAAAY easier than the state Tatsumi is in now. But somehow it took me three hours to check every detail.**

**Thanks to a reviewer, I tried to make this chapter way clearer than normal, as it should be. Perhaps you don't see any change in the style, but I definitely do. **

**Hmm... really forgetting something today, but I can say we've reached the halfway of this story. Or perhaps just a third, depends of how much I write. Really, I had foreseen that chapter 20 was going to be the start of a certain thing, but that's going to take a while seeing how long I take to explain.**

**As always thaaaaaaaaanks who everyone who reviews, follows or favorites the fic. But please, if you review do it with an account! I enjoy answering to you, if I remember. I'm very lazy sometimes :(**

**Next chapter! We'll be back with Tatsumi, but with a vengeance! He's been talking about liberté and égalité, but we need some fraternité up in this bitch! SO THAT'S WHY! I don't know how to name next chapter.**

**Another chapter, and then it'll be an special! Remember that so you can cut my head when I don't release it.**

**Thanks again!**


	19. Alchemy Meister

**Geez, I fix one problem and another one came up. Why does this keep happening to me?!**

**No, that's not a typo in the title.**

* * *

**Enslaved Soldier Arc**

_**Alchemy Meister**_

* * *

Alright.

Look back. Nothing.

Left? Nothing.

Right? Nothing.

RUN, RUN, RUN.

Stupid girl with magic cape. Boohoo, I can be invisible. Well fuck you! I can be invisible too! You know how that can happen? By not being seen!

And now I'm running away and I'M FREAKING THE FUCK OUT.

Uf... Got that out of the system.

Fine. Good. Nothing bad.

Pro-tip. Don't get close to walls. Run a lot. Have a Jaeger at you side and raise your hands all night.

It's been three days since I got sick, and I can feel that I'm already back at full power. Perhaps a bit mentally scarred, but nothing new that could be considered threatening.

Well, you know. Besides that vampire trying to suck various things. Specifically my blood. And pretty sure that other thing.

What happened yesterday wasn't that bad. I mean, it was, but trying to cope with it. What I was thinking it would happen and what actually happen is kinda different but I haven't lost any kind of virginity. I think. Maybe I did. I think my sloppiness saved me.

I'm sure I lost some innocence and besides wanting to cleanse my soul and fingers, I think I got out all in one piece.

Gah, my fingers feel nasty. Specifically these two. Let's not talk about the tongue.

Anyways, don't think about it. There's nothing three tons of soap can't clean. Or mint.

"Ah, Tatsumi. Do you want t-" My heart almost escaped through my mouth when I heard somebody talking.

"Ahu?! Ah... Wave, what's wrong?" That jumpscare cut my life in half.

"Are you alright? You seem kind of pale." He said while scratching his hair.

"No, no. I'm fine. Is there something you want?" I asked with some inexplicable fear. He should have find this suspicious, but I don't actually know.

"...I was wondering if you wanted to spar. Your sword skills are on par with mine, so I thought it'd be a nice duel." He admitted, ignoring my wariness.

"Oh, that sounds, good. But I need to check up, something with my group. Would it be, fine if we start, in an hour or so?" This was good for me. Wave is strong, and I need to get stronger.

"Mm." He nodded with a smile before turning a bit serious. " You're talking a bit weird today. What's with all the sudden pauses?"

"Oh. Really? I didn't, eh, notice." He's suspicious of me, isn't he?

"Do you want to know how to find something you do not see?" His sudden brusqueness was way too unnatural to be unsuspicious. This was bad...

I couldn't be sure of what he knew. But he wasn't saying it for the laughs.

"I don't think, conversations work like this. But knowledge is power." You don' know how grateful I'd be.

"Good. Relying only on your sight is a rookie mistake! You have way more senses than your eyes, however this doesn't mean that you have a radar for every living being. You know more than me how it feels a person with a killing intent, and besides, just because you can't see it, it doesn't mean you can't hear or feel them." He said with some pride, as if he had waited the moment of being a teacher.

"Hm, seems obvious. But this is a, great advice from Wave-sensei. Thanks a lot."

He gave me a thumbs up, before giving me a strange glance, turning around and leaving.

Was that pure altruism, or does he know what I'm going through? It just looks like my guard can't be down. Who knows if he will try to kill me too.

I looked round for a moment before continuing my odyssey through the palace, just to get to the entrance.

Going through those pillars is going to give such a headache now.

At the very least Esdese didn't say anything about me spending ten minutes in the shower. Hell, I'd prefer if she thinks I was masturbating or something.

Well, let's return to the routine.

Look back. Nothing.

Left? Nothing.

Right? Nothing.

RUN, RUN, RUN.

* * *

Thanks to the almighty writer of this story, I didn't bump into nobody known.

It doesn't mean I dropped my guard. I'm still at a hundred percent awareness.

After leaving the palace and rushing out of there, I felt way more calmed than normal. However, something in my back kept telling me to stay on guard. It was almost like somebody... was clinging to my back, sending me messages of despair.

"Captain?! After yesterday, I didn't think you'd be back!" I saw my Lieutenant greeting me as soon as he spotted me

Speaking of despair...

"Sorry about that. It was out of my power to do anything. Have you been able to accomplish that task?" Egu looked at me impatient as I said those words.

"Accomplish is a very... rash word. I'd say more like kind of managed." He said with a dim glare.

"That is enough." I looked at the ground as I got reminded of something. "Hey... Erm, can a man be raped?" I asked feeling slightly embarrassed.

"Uh... I suppose so. I mean I've never been in a prison but you can't drop the so-" That wasn't the one I was asking!

"No, I mean, eh, by a woman." Why am I having this conversation?

"Are you into some kinky shit or what?" He asked, surprised by my sudden boldness.

"Just answer."

"I guess? It's not like I know anyone, but I suppose it's possible. Never heard about death by snu snu?"

"Y-You can die? I didn't know that!" If you can die why does everyone want to do it!

"What? If you do it a hundred ti- God, you don't know anything!" He said followed by a small laughter.

"Fine, whatever. Shut up. I have a new task for you." I said as I grew annoyed of his mockery. "If you ever see a girl dressed like Alice, come to me immediately. Don't even talk to her."

"That's oddly specific, but fine. Do I have to search for the rabbit too?" If he was trying to tell a joke, it was horrific. "I'll shut up."

"You better." I wanted to say something else, but he cut me off. I'm your superior, damn it!

"So, what's with Alice-girl? Did you leave her pregnant or something? You should take responsibility!" If that's supposed to be a joke it's not funny!

"NO! I didn't do that."

"Ah, so you did something else... You left her blind?!" He suddenly jumped as he said that. What? How would I do that?!

"I didn't even know you could do that!"

"Neither that? Hum..." He started thinking about not so farfetched things.

"No, stop it. It's not funny." I said as I was starting to get mad. Someday I'll laugh about that event, but certainly not the day after.

As if I need somebody now to laugh at me.

"A-Alright. I'll get going then..." Tsk...

"Wait, come here." My voice grew darker for some reason. "Remember the incident of a month ago?"

"Yes, sir." His professionalism apparently kicked in now.

"It's obvious that wasn't normal. The reason I've away so much is because I've trying to locate the source." I lied, trying to find an excuse and motivation for him. "Everything I've gathered leads up to her, I could be wrong but don't joke around."

As if I want to say that I've been stuck with a sadist these last weeks. By saying this I seem like a good leader who cares about everyone, which is more or less true.

"Then do we arrest her?" I shook my head as he said that.

I don't want to sound as if I know it's her, because it's just a lie. Besides she can quickly counter this false statement. I'm only using this to put her away from me for some time.

"No, we don't have a good motive yet. But it's not like we could. Just inform me if she gets close. Perhaps... Inform some soldiers too."

I alone might not be enough, but if I put in the way some soldiers I might get a bigger chance.

"Aye aye, captain!" He did the required salute and left towards the barracks.

Good. At least I'll have a small gap of time if she ever comes close to me outside the palace. It'd be too obvious if I'm able to kill her in my own district, but it's not like I have the strength.

Huh, that reminds me. Ran said something about wanting to meet me yesterday, but I forgot. You know, strange cosplaying girl trying to make me enter her... ah... Perhaps I should go find him today.

But now, I have to do something else.

Remember what I said about people doing the dirty work for me? The only way to show the required loyalty is in a mission! So, to do that we'll have to get assigned to one. And I can't go just go to the HQ and say I want a mission.

With all the people surrounding me, I feel very insecure though. I have to leave this place.

I can't sense anything wrong, and that unnerves me. W-What if there's someone behind me?

Look back. Lots of people.

Right? Lots of people.

Left? Lots of people.

My trick doesn't work here!

I picked up my pace trying to get to higher ground, however I didn't expect bumping into somebody.

"Excuse me." I quickly apologized, and sidestepped to let the girl go.

"Sheesh, idiot! It's me!" I looked at the cloaked figure for a moment. Looks awfully suspicious, but it's not like Night Raid has an idiot for a lea-

"I'm afraid I do- Mein?! What are you doing here?!" I'm sure I'm seeing pink below that hood! My god is she stupid or what?!

There are literally people wanting to kill her here! Not to mention that rapist! Oh god no. She's insane, period.

"Having a stroll. You're the one not looking forward." She's right on that one. In various ways.

"You should leave before somebody recognizes you. I should be arresting you right now, you know?" I looked around as I said that. Nothing too suspicious yet.

I couldn't see her face below that hood, but she didn't look too pleased with my answer. Even I can tell that.

"You should be dead too and you don't see me whining about it!" Well, I'm seeing you whining right now. "Besides, I wanted to give you something."

I looked perplexed as she gave me a metallic object, a bit too suspicious for my liking.

"A handgun?" It seemed like an older model of the gun I had until the raid. Which I should remind you, it was also hers.

"It's a token of forgiveness." Her voice didn't change the slightest, but I felt like it should have. Perhaps she feels guilty about that...

"Thanks but... I don't think there's anything to forgive. I should be the one apologizing but someone told me I was stupid for doing so." I still remember that cave with Akame and this girl.

"It's my fault you lost that thing in the first place, so you should be happy I went out of my way to get you this." Don't exaggerate so much.

"Fine, thanks a whole lot." I was going to get a handgun right now, so I guess this makes up. Maybe I should give her a present too. "...How are you holding up?"

Some months ago I was a lot of broken pieces, now I'm a lot of dust. But she at least has friends. They should be very nice to her. It must be pretty lovely to see that people actually care for you. And that don't want to rape you occasionally.

"Fine." She just said that word, but I heard something completely different.

No, I'm not fine but I'm saying this so you don't get worried.

That's what I heard.

"At the very least you're with your friends. I got sick and two days later I got forced t- to train."I can't tell her that the damn girl is here. Or maybe I should.

"If you joined the Revolution that wouldn't happen, you know? We could mee- You could see people that thinks like you." I felt compelled to say something, but the right words didn't appear.

Maybe... Maybe she's right. But even then, it can't be.

"I can't do that. If that happens, then my friends will have died for nothing..." Besides, I don't know if I can trust the Revolution. After the meeting with my master, I'm not so sure if we want the same thing.

I looked at the handgun again, and holstered it with some nostalgia. The resemblance was astonishing, but it looks like this gun is a one-shot.

Mein was about to respond when she took a step back.

"Ehm, captain? Boobahlah? Red alert?" Egu is still here? But I left the area where we met.

"Red alert? You're kidding right?" It's barely been two minutes. As long as he doesn't recognize Mein, it's all good.

"Uh, maybe? I just saw the Easter bunny and thought; Well, that isn't Alice. So I continued like nothing until I saw the dress and said: Wow, fuck. That is actually Alice. So I started running in the one-two method and started talking to you."I blinked a few times while digesting all that information.

It's a very big perhaps. I can't risk it though.

"Alright. You, eh... standby."

So here's what I did.

I simply backed up. Grabbed Mein and started running like there was no tomorrow.

"Hey, wait, what's wrong?!"Mein prompted me to stop, which I did as she slipped out of my grasp.

I looked around, but the only place she could hide was the crowd. There was an alleyway just to our left, but that's literally the first place to look.

Do I tell her the truth? Perhaps it isn't a wise choice. What should I do? She isn't going to trust me, but...

"If I told you to stay hidden for five minutes, would you do it?" I could feel my heart pumping harder, but I felt like I couldn't just tell her that so soon.

"What is it? You look pretty scared." Her careworn voice did a number on me. That's my weak point...

Don't make me feel bad, I'm saving you!

"I'll explain it if I return. Please, go hide right now." I tried to cut any unnecessary explanation, but she just kept asking.

"I'm disguised right now. The question is why aren't you hiding!" Oh come on!

I can't tell her that girl is here. I don't know how well she is, but Mein surely can't have recovered so soon. I'll tell her a lie and be done with it.

_"Do you remember what happened last time you lied to someone you liked?" _I froze as I heard a voice in my head again. Why does it use Seryu's voice?

_"Oh, Seryu, go get Stylish's approval! Lying to you like this will surely not bring me any pain! What a stringy situation it ended like, right? Ah, what happened afterwards? You were so driven into killing Stylish... How are you dealing with the whole,' I let Dorothea rape me'? and 'Ah, why couldn't I save Mein when I could'?" _

I felt a sharp pain trying to gouge my eyes out, making me cover them with anxiety.

_"Ohoho, and let's not even talk about what happened six years ago. You looked so adorable trying to protect her... You don't even remember what happened afterwards. Maybe that's why you're such a good liar. You managed to fool yourself too."_

"Tatsumi? What's wrong?" I felt her touching my hand and immediately felt some calmness again.

"I am... I am not lying. I failed protecting you twice... Don't make me fail again, please." I leaned against a wall as I felt dizziness building up inside of me.

"..." I didn't notice that Mein was already gone when I opened my eyes again.

After breathing several times, I felt myself at overdrive once again.

I frantically looked around, trying to pinpoint that odd sensation that was travelling through my body. It told me there was something in the rooftops, but there wasn't anything. Maybe it's because the sun is at its highest, and that makes me feel warm.

Well, this is awkward. Maybe I was wrong and there's nobod-

"Got'cha!" I felt a sudden impulse to jump off a window as I felt someone hugging me unexpectedly.

How the hell does she do that?! Does Dorothea have a freaking surprise weapon or what?!

"Please, why don't you act like a normal person?" I said as I pushed her off. I noticed that her dress was red instead of blue.

Then who the hell did Egu spot?!

"I am a normal person. You however... Well, don't worry. Everyone has a purpose! Maybe yours is just to remind everyone else how much worse off they could be." And yours is to destroy my life.

"...Whatever you say. I'm going to leave now, so bye!" I backed off and started walking away like it was nothing.

"I didn't give you permission though." I could only mumble profanities as she grabbed my wrist firmly.

Yesterday was way too much for me! I don't want anymore!

"I realized that yesterday you didn't give me anything to eat." Her words didn't hide the lust that she was emanating.

Oh come on! It's barely been a day!

"But I thought..." that yesterday was enough.

No wait, what? Give her something to eat? Well, if we put that into the context that means that I have to, eh... I want to cry.

"Let's go, let's go! And you're saying I'm a bad person!" She started dragging me along the streets.

"B-But you said something about not making me feel good!" I tried my best to stop this senseless action, but she was too strong.

"Did I? It was just a onetime thing." This girl is just crazy. We already knew that.

Let's just not remind her that she also wanted to make me drink her piss. Dodged the bullet on that one.

She suddenly stopped and showed me pulled some syringes out of nowhere. She looked awfully happy with them, which is bad.

"Look, look! I brought syringes full of a saline dissolution! Do you know why?!" She was so excited that I was getting scared once again.

"Because you're always horny?"

"No, you silly! It's for an enema!" Isn't that when you put water through your a-

Oh shit. No pun intended.

"E-E-Enema. A-And why do you want that?" Her smugness was so stressing that I couldn't shook off my pain.

"It's for you of course! I heard there's a fetish like that, so I wanted to try it!" She grabbed my wrist again, and started dragging me along.

I don't know why I wasn't crying at this point. Seriously, this is the... worst.

"What do you say, alley? Then alleyway it is!" She made a sharp turn which almost broke my hand.

Before I could even say "wait", I was already in that alley of doom. Her small hands brought me closer to one of the walls. For some reason, she pulled out her tongue.

"See? Which one do you want? My tongue or my hand? Well, you don't get to choose. You used your hands and I'll use mine today!" But you just said enema!

How does she function?! I don't care, just stop!

STOP! STOP BEING ALIVE ALREADY!

She gently pushed me against the wall and leaned against me. I merely turned my head away as I couldn't do anything. I was way too close to a drainpipe.

"Your heart is beating pretty hard... Want to know where that blood is going to?" NO.

Wait, this is good. We're alone right now, if I'm lucky I might be able to shoot her in the head with the gun Mein gave me!

I moved my hand slowly and carefully towards my back, just where my holster was at. Just when I had moved it ever so slightly, I felt like I couldn't move it.

Eh? She hasn't noticed. But why can't I...?

I looked at my hand, and saw my hand tangled in wires. What?

"Sorry for stepping in, but that was just getting obscene." A voice that seemed genderless started talking.

A girl appeared in the alley, who looked a bit too masculine.

The gun, the gun...! Wait, it didn't have any bullets in! Shit!

"I don't like my fun getting spoiled, you know?" Dorothea didn't really like this sudden interjection and got off me.

Oh thank god! Is the zipper up? It's up! Great. I mean, she kinda touched... eh, back to action!

Wait, how did I get wired up?! Did the newcomer do it or was it Dorothea? She just said some pretty weird fetishes so perhaps it's that.

Wires...Strings...? The way Seryu die was because a man who used wires as if they were snakes. It was a man, but the one who is here is a girl.

Maybe that guy is in the rooftops! I have to kill him! Seryu suffered all that because of that guy! I don't care if he's a good guy, a bad guy or god.

"I'm kind of being forced to do this, but I think you like forcing things, huh?" The girl was implying exactly what I was thinking.

Is she from Night Raid? Do they have only girls?

Dorothea's focus isn't on me right now. Even if my hand is tied into this pipe drain, I can still use my other hand. But I don't have anything to kill her now so if I try, there isn't going to be any future for me.

"I didn't force anything, she didn't try to stop me." Dorothea had picked up that this girl should be from Night Raid, as she isn't referring to me.

"I'm not even going to point out how many wrong things you just said. I'm here for business, you know?" Is that girl really a chick? If so her voice seems crooked. Very crooked. I wouldn't say manly, but definitely not a girl's voice.

Whatever the reason might be, this person was getting her attention off me. But why am I trapped here?! I was the one getting abused, not her! It was very obvious!

I tried to break the wires, but they were very strong. However, the pipe wasn't.

"Oh, really? I think we have different meanings for the word business." Whatever Dorothea was planning, it wasn't good.

I could feel the tension in the air, but I kept forcing the wires out of me. My wrist was starting to bleed from the tension of the wires. Shit, I'm going to kill that guy!

"That's a shame really. If you tell me about what you had to do in the Craftsmen's district incident, you might be able to speak again." I think that's a guy.

I mean, he can't keep up with the high pitched voice. Then, could he be the man who killed Seryu? Unless I'm able to see his teigu, I won't know.

I tried once again to break out from the wire trap, trying to bend the iron of the drain to no succeed. Come on, apply more strength!

"Ooh, a detective? What if I don't want to say anything?" The crossdressed guy looked pretty tired of her playfulness.

"You know, I don't torture people." He moved his hands as if playing a piano, before the wires in my wrist loosened.

I watched perplexed as strings wrapped around Dorothea's neck, and lift her up enough to make her stand on her tiptoes. Enough to make her breathe, but barely. The torture is simple. If your legs give up, you're dead. That's messed up but... good job.

I seriously wanted to go and kiss that guy until I remembered something. This means he also killed Seryu. He isn't getting any kind of redemption. Even if he kills Dorothea, that doesn't make up anything. Perhaps a more merciful death.

"I'll make an exception for you and I won't repeat myself. What did you do, in the Craftsmen's district incident? It's very simple really."

The guy was struggling against Dorothea's own strength, who tried her best to remove those metallic strings. However, he had the upper hand.

I felt rage building up inside me. I can kill them both. They have made me suffer. Those two have done horrible things. So it doesn't matter if they get a bit hurt, right? Maybe a finger... or a feet... What about cutting their legs so they can't run?

"Tatsumi." I felt somebody pulling me away from the conflict just when I was about to step in.

I felt slightly irritated as Mein pulled me out of the alleyway, leaving me in the shadows of whatever those two were talking about.

Agh... it's probably for the better. Who knows what errors I could have done if I had actually interfered. I don't have my sword on me.

"I thought I told you to run." I said while checking my wrist. I'm bleeding a bit, but nothing too bad.

"You aren't my boss." She answered as if it was obvious. "If I wasn't here, you'd be dead! How come you didn't tell me about her?!" Ah, she's mad!

At least she thinks Dorothea was going to kill me. The embarrassment it would be if she knew the actual purpose.

"You didn't have a teigu so..." I quickly made up an excuse. She wasn't having none of that though.

"You don't have one either, you stupid idiot! What were you trying to do, jackass?!" It's not necessary to scream!

"Everything was under control. It's not like I was going to die." Huh. That's actually true.

Mein didn't really like the truth, so she grabbed my jacket and started shaking me like a freaking cocktail. I don't know why I even talk to her.

"My god! Next time I'll kill you myself, you ignorant fuck!" Whoa, whoa.

"Don't start cussing, aren't you a lady?" I haven't even heard Seryu curse, so that's a pretty nice goal.

"What's that even suppose to mean?!" She yelled again.

I managed to get her off me, but her rambling just didn't stop. Damn, shut up!

"Oi, if you want to get in the line, Esdese got me first. Should have knocked me out when you had the chance." I don't think that's how love works.

She started blushing heavily, either by sheer embarrassment or anger. Heh...

She looked at the alley beside us for a moment and looked at me again.

"Let's get out of here." She started to walk away and I followed her along shortly.

Please, kill Dorothea. Kill her. Pretty please! I will give you a swift death if you kill her.

"Captain! I actually screwed up! It wasn't Alice, it was actually a fucking cos-" Egu suddenly appeared in front of me, barely missing Mein.

"Yeah, I noticed. By the way, I believe you have orders to follow." How does he know where I am?

"Sure, sure. Remember, not in the eyes!" He gave me a thumbs up before getting out of my sight.

I swear to god, I'm going to demote that guy for being a freaking ass.

"What does he mean?" I heard Mein say beside me.

"I'd want to know that too. Why was your... friend trying to interrogate that, eh, girl?" I asked her.

"I don't know."

So she knows but can't say it. Fair enough.

"Ah, well. I suggest you to leave before more things happen."

I looked around to see that the people hadn't even noticed whatever happened behind us. Perhaps I should go grab my bombs and ammo for this gun.

"At least wait until my friend shows up." She innocently said.

Ohoho... you don't want that. I'll choke that bastard if he shows up. Does she really not know, or did she forget. Maybe she forgot about Seryu?

How could she forget though, she's standing rig- Oh. I'm hallucinating again.

That's weird, I've never had a hallucination so real. Heh, she's actually smiling. I don't think I've ever seen that smile. It's pretty cute.

"If that girl is here... then how are you still around? You shouldn't be able to even be here." She brought the topic up again.

"I made some deal." I briefly looked at Mein before trying to spot Seryu.

"Deal? What have you... Gah, I don't care. Look, if she doesn't die you're going to be in a very dire situation. Why don't you just join us?" She was very insisting with that topic.

"Well, if she doesn't appear dead, I'll do it myself. But, in the unlikely case she isn't dead and I can't do anything... I'll try to make it out in one piece." It won't happen... It won't.

I spotted Seryu again, but way more closer than before. That's actually creepy.

"Well, I don't have any money on me. Maybe you have something in mind?" I looked at Mein who had a very weird expression. What is she watching anyways?

"Ah, no. I'll leave." What's with that reaction?

"I thought you didn't want to be alone?" I said a bit confused.

"Eh, I just... I forgot something. Please, think about joining us." She bowed slightly and ran away without saying goodbye.

"Goodbye...!" It's not like she's seen a ghost or anything.

I looked where Seryu was standing, but I couldn't see her anymore. Every girl I know runs away without telling me goodbye. At least Sayo told me to return safely. Seryu said cutesy things to make me blush. Esdese, eh, I don't think she's ever bid farewell. Like I've never left her... That's pretty creepy if you think about it like this.

But Mein just gets the hell out as soon as she can. Akame does that too. Maybe she does hate me.

Well, I have enough troubles to be thinking about girls. I'll go to the Palace and retrieve my teigu. Let's hope Dorothea appears dead...

_"That was not the reaction I was hoping for."_ I heard Seryu said beside me.

Oh, she actually appears now. Not just a random voice in my head. That's great.

It's sarcasm by the way. I want to forget, you know?

"Please, leave my head. I don't need to remember you anymore." I told her as she got closer to me. Why do I feel her warmth?

_"Did you love me that much?"_ I thought she was teasing me, but it sounded more like a question.

"You're in my head. You should know that already." Please, disappear.

Her voice actually sounded weird. Normally she sounds in every direction, but she feels like she's actually here. Then again, this comes from the guy who is absolutely in a perfect state of mind.

_"Oh, you don't even call me that anymore." _ The hell is she...

"You're not nee-san. She's dead, so please disappear." I stated as I started walking faster.

_"I'm here to give you advice. You have that teigu, don't you?" _ I looked over as she was keeping up with me. She is actually walking. I thought she'd be floating.

Damn, this hallucination is more persistent than the others.

"Barely five minutes ago you almost made me kill myself. If I tell you about it could you go away?" The people around me isn't even giving me weird looks.

_"Maybe. Find the teigu and leave the city. I'll tell you how to use it." _I stopped and stared at her.

Isn't she in my head, how can she know that?

"I can't leave the city unless Esdese allows me. She'd probably follow me this time." It was very sad actually. "Probably I'll have to leave if things go south."

_"You've left once, I'm sure you can do it again for me."_ She smiled and blew me a kiss.

I felt my face turning as red as blood when I saw her do that.

"Hey..." I tried to approach her, but she took a step back and disappeared in the crowd.

My heart is going doki doki again, eh...

* * *

I ran as fast as I could, not trying to attract attention but failing miserably. To enter the Palace, first you have to climb an almost vertical slope that I don't know what the hell they were thinking.

I have to get back the teigu, and get the hell out of the palace. If Dorothea is dead, I can stay and be calmed and normal. However, I cannot risk it.

If she isn't dead, well, it's obvious I'm done for. There's no way she isn't spilling the beans. I literally left her to die.

If that happens, well, I guess I'll be forced to join the Revolution. As much as I hate it, if I'm being targeted I won't be able to do anything, plus I'll lose every soldier I've gathered.

That would really suck. I have high hopes though. There's no way that guy would let her get away, right? Not after what she's done. Unless she has a trump card like...wolves.

My steps were awfully loud as I entered the wide entrance, and I was stared at by every guard in the vicinity.

Ah shit, walk very quickly like a hound.

Ignoring every glare, I walked up the stairs and headed towards Esdese's room. Hopefully she isn't there, because then I'll have to deal with her constant... constant... kindness. Yeah, let's go with that.

It usually takes five whole minutes to go there, but thanks to all my running, I reached the room in less than two. Now everyone thinks I'm suspicious, but as long as Esdese is there, nobody will say a word. You know, until she discovers I kill Stylish.

I opened the door to the bedroom with extreme caution, and carefully made my way towards the bed.

Something was screaming inside of me, telling me to hurry up. Usually my gut isn't wrong, so better do as it says.

I got my hand into the depths of the bed, until I touched something metallic. Moments later, I had my sword at hand.

"Alright you stupid teigu, listen up. You're going to work, and we're all going to be happy." I looked directly at the crossed gem as I said those words.

I wasn't crying sour grapes because I had more important things to do, like staying alive. That's a good song.

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive.

Holy shit, now it's not the time!

No time to lose, I have to know if Dorothea is dead. If she isn't...

I'll kill her myself.

* * *

"We haven't found no body, Captain. There was blood everywhere though. It continued through the rooftops towards the east, but then it disappeared. Whatever that skirmish was about, it ended rather quickly."A soldier explained.

I tried to deal with the stress as well as I could, but it was nearly impossible.

Where the hell is that girl! Was she captured by the Night Raider?

No, that can't be it. She somehow break free, but started bleeding through the power struggle. Seryu's murdered got the hell out even as she followed him and then, for some reason, there's a blank where there's no more blood.

"Keep searching, no matter where. We have to get that girl..." The soldier was uneasy about my sudden orders.

I accidentally started biting my nails as I watched every person that started to get near the palace.

Nobody in his right mind would get close to the gate, so that helps a bit. There's no way she has entered already, as I've been here since I left. But to do that, I'm also a bit too close to the palace.

And that doesn't really help because my soldiers already dislike me for some reason, so that just gives me more stress and I'm going to kill everyone!

I think I'm absolutely livid.

My mind, however, grew substantially more relaxed as I saw a figure approaching me.

"Captain, ready for battle!" My Lieutenant, Egu, said with a strange determination.

I can't battle that girl alone, but too many people would get in the way. As much as I hate to admit it, he's my best soldier.

He followed my orders with an exact precision, dismissing armor for speed and agility. The two-handed sword he used to yield was replaced by a short one handed sword. I'd thought of having a gun, but I can't use something that makes so much noise.

Machine guns are only provided to gun squadrons, and they keep the monopoly without any kind of mercy. They might be useless at long range, but they're fast.

And even more important. If Mein wasn't able to hit her, I doubt he will. So that's why I decided against it.

"..."

Let's start thinking again.

What if she had used that cloak to pass me...?

No, something tells me she wouldn't pass me like this. That short temperament she has wouldn't let her. But...

"Let's enter the last wall." I muttered as I turned around and headed towards the guarded entrance.

The Palace itself is pretty big, but most is concentrated in the middle. There's a big wall surrounding everything and after 500 meters, the palace appears.

Unlike the entrance to the actual palace, the entrance to the enclosure is more heavily guarded, although the patio behind it is nice. However, if we go too close to the palace, we'll arise too much suspicion. I don't want the Imperial and Varengian guard up my ass...

"Woah, I didn't know you could..." I heard my subordinate answer to my non-existent question.

"Don't ask about it. It's not like we'll enter the palace."

The guards obviously tried to stop me from entering, but the mere mention of Esdese was enough to make them shut up. And along the way, they won't tell anyone because of it. I guess they're starting to realize who they're messing with. Let's hope that doesn't change.

"This is freaky... I've never been so clos..." I heard Egu talking to himself.

I didn't know it made such an impression. And this is just the patio that surrounds the palace. It's filled with gardens, with lots of trees everywhere. If the enemy enters, you don't want trees to stop your fire.

It looks like a fatal design flaw to me, but it comes in handy to what I'm going to do.

"I'm not supposed to bring anyone, so don't go too far." I'm sure they'll kill you if you don't do it, and honestly, you're pretty much the only one loyal to me.

I'm not going to say that obviously.

"Y-Yes. W-Why don't we let the guards handle her?" So he's pissing his pants. Normal.

"You'll know once you see."

Close to paved road towards the Palace, there are lots of trees. I'm going to ambush her here.

I don't think the rapist would want to play after almost being choked to dead. Probably, at least.

"Egu, hide between those trees over there. Once I make a signal with my hand, attack." He nodded and disappeared between the trees.

The trees are bad for my speed, but they're also cover.

I sat down behind a tree, and waited. If she appears, there's only this road.

If she doesn't appear by twilight... then she's captured or dead. I have another 8 hours to wait.

However, I didn't have to wait even fifteen minutes.

I spotted the bright red dress, with an untouched Dorothea. Until you see her neck. The strings had made various wounds on her neck, even damaging the primordial carotid artery. However, even with wounds and blood leaving her body like that, she looked completely unfazed.

Tsk... what's with that guy and leaving people half dead... If he had killed Seryu, then at least she wouldn't have suffered any more. And now, this bitch is still alive!

She's getting close.

I feel my mind losing to madness...

That's it. I have to kill her now.

I lunged out of my hiding spot, and moved my sword. It became a blur, and before I even acknowledged what happened, I felt my sword ripping through flesh.

No, it wasn't a killing blow, but I definitely did damage.

"Motherfucker..." I heard her say as she almost unwillingly took some steps back.

Her red dress was cut in diagonal, right where my sword had cut through.

"Nice going with the red dress today. However, I'm afraid you won't live enough to get another one." I locked my stance, feeling confident after that hit.

That feeling started to slowly disappear as she started laughing.

"That guy almost killed me, you know? And then you leave... I guess you know how fucked you are. At least more than yesterday." She is trying to prompt an attack?

"...I thought you'd say something like; The guards saw me enter, and you are trying to kill me right beside the Palace. You really are stupid." I carefully remembered where Egu should be at.

That red dress really helps me a lot.

If somebody asks me how she died, I'll say this: I was just wandering around, when I saw Dorothea falling to ground. I, like the kind soul I am, rushed to help, but it seemed the wounds were way too serious for treatment... It still haunts me every day the fact that I could have done something.

What a mountain of lies I'm creating. The same lies that lead me to tragedy, will open a new blue sky.

"Ah, really? It's so sweet to know you that you think of me. Sadly, you only have two choices. Die now, or die tomorrow. I hope you choose the latter, I really want your blood."

"Shut your mouth." I answered almost sporadically.

"Which one? I have four." Eh? That one, the other... the one behind it and...

"Fuck you!"

I heard a noise coming from the sword, as if it had opened something. For some reason, Dorothea suddenly got serious as she muttered something.

My eyes burn... What is this feeling, wrapping around my bones and soul?

It's emanating from the teigu... it's not a nice feeling, but I feel the power that surrounds it. It's yelling... telling me to use it, but I don't know how.

I don't know why, but I feel like it's only a fraction of the real power that this teigu holds. Where's the key that unravels that power?

I ignored the feeling and decided to attack. Cut the head. Only that.

I cannot afford to lose the sword. If she grabs it, it's game over. I'm basing all my strategy on that first battle. While I have not improved at all in these three days, I have this teigu. Besides, I'm backed away in a corner like an animal.

My first stab was missed on purpose, as she was ready to block any attack coming from the front. Using the momentum of the sword, I rolled to the side and quickly swung my sword diagonally.

As I had thought, she took a step back as she couldn't block it.

There, I got you now.

I moved my hand in a brief pattern, and continued my barrage of swings and misses.

As I saw a brief movement in the trees behind her, I apparently had made a terrible "mistake".

She managed to block the teigu, and though her hand started bleeding, she quickly overpowered myself. Until _that_ happened.

Although a second off, Egu had successfully ambushed her and cut through her back.

The sudden attack had caught her off guard, making her lose her grip on my sword. That should have slowed her down. Should.

She kicked Egu out of the way and I had to jump back as she almost knocked me out with one hit. She didn't even lose any speed or strength.

What the hell? She has that wound in the neck. She has another wound from the shoulder to the hip and another just as big in her back. So how? How is she still kicking?!

I looked over to my downed lieutenant. He had been kicked right in the stomach, and it would be highly unlike to have him again in battle. However, he still gave me a weak thumbs up.

No, I had judged the situation too quick. She was obviously tired. She is still an alchemy nerd, not a fighter.

"What's wrong Dorothea? Is the theory different from the practice? Maybe you want the same lesson I gave the Doctor."

I couldn't help but laugh as I saw her distressed expression.

I started to walk towards her as I noticed something. Just as I saw that, I started laughing even harder. I get it now! It makes sense!

"You shouldn't frown like that or you'll get wrinkles. Ah, what am I saying? You already have them. Oh wait, I get it! Bath in virgin's blood to be eternally beautiful. If so I think you need a refund."

The injuries we had been able to make started to wear off the almost invisible disguise she was wearing. The disguise of beauty. And that was making her angry, huh? To know that I've found her secret.

She touched her face, before even more exasperation filled her body.

"Shut up! You're so fucked!" She grabbed something from below her skirt.

A strange wand-like object was all that I could see, as her own blood started to make a symbol on the ground.

It didn't take the mind of a genius to know that whatever it was, it was going to be bad.

I had to run, she had never shown that ability before. If I want to live, I have to run but then that would mean betraying Ieyasu, Sayo and Seryu.

It's all or nothing!

I had felt this before.

I remember this rush of adrenaline perfectly. It's strange, your body just locks up, you kind of go numb, but you're suddenly aware of every single sense you have. Your mind becomes a textbook, like a checklist of everything you need to do, and some of that definitely comes from experience and training. Your brain reverts to that knowledge and moves your body seemingly without you even being conscious of it. Like slow motion.

I've felt this when I faced Zank. That last hit that decided everything.

That moment of false hope was destroyed as soon as I was blown back by a sudden gust of wind.

A creature made of pure miasma appeared out of nowhere. The bizarre creature had a body covered with many eyes and mouths, several monstrous limbs, and a strange aura that I didn't want to know what it did.

"What's wrong Tatsumi!? Where's all that bravado?!" I couldn't even feel mad as I looked at the monster she created.

What the fuck... What the fuck is that thing?!

I barely dodged one of its strange looking arms, before I jumped out of the way of the strange miasma that covered its body.

A smaller arm tried to pierce my heart, but I quickly stabbed it with my sword. It turned into gas before reattaching to the beast. It heals too?

My body is itching... More like hurting.

My clothes are... disappearing? This miasma has acid?!

"Bye bye."

The beast opened one of its big mouths and lunged towards me. I turned around and started to run, but the arms cut my way of escaping.

Was I done for? Was I going to die now? No, I couldn't.

I felt it once again. That slow-motion...

It was as if an archaic creature controlled my body.

Almost without a thought, I stabbed the teigu onto the ground. I don't even know if I was moving my body.

The sword's crossguards moved on its own, and my joints locked. Whether it was fear or pure fatigue, I didn't care.

The miasma that almost swallowed my whole body was suddenly expelled back by an unknown force. I looked at the beast that tried to eat me, when I realized something far worse was behind me.

I turned around, only to be dominated by panic. A powerful looking dragon appeared right behind me. Those four eyes, its muscular arms along those claws, just sent a shiver down my spine.

"Wha-" I slurred those words as the new beast's eyes locked on me.

The miasma monster tried to attack me again, but it seemed that whatever teigu monster I had summoned, it was having none of that. A lonely but powerful swing was all it took to dispel the miasma, along with the monster.

The creature then focused on me, but the sword lost its power for some reason.

I fell to the ground as the creature behind me disappeared.

"Ah...ha...ha..." I hadn't even done much exercise, but my body was worn out. I was gasping with every movement I made.

If it wasn't for the sword stuck in the ground, I'd have fallen to the ground.

My balance was suddenly lost, and I felt someone on top of me. Huh.. what?

"You're really something, you know?" I felt the urge to puke rise in my throat as I saw Dorothea on top of me. Again.

"Captain!"

Egu, my last barrier before I could lose all hope, tried his best to attack Dorothea. However, she calmly blocked the sword. A punch was all it took to take him down.

What the hell... I lost because of that freaking teigu! Did it eat my own power or what?!

"Well, at least now I can have your blood." My eyes couldn't stay open for much longer.

I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder. Her fangs have pierced my skin, just in the same place as she did the first time.

That's my soul slipping away...

Damn it... I tried.

Really...

There's the angel who will lead me to hell.

Huh, something is really wrong with that phrase.

Why am I seeing an angel? Huh... Oh, that must be...

* * *

**I'm really tired... But I have to upload this chapter, and then check and rewrite some parts of the next one... And just because I'll be out for some time. I'm doing his for you, guys!**

**I guess I'm a really bad person for not telling what exactly happened below that invisible cape. I barely know how to write a fight scene, much less an erotic one . But Tatsumi mentions it slightly. Doesn't mean he'll remember every part though.**

**So yeah... should probably mention a brief mistake last chapter with Sayo. However, it's not necessary to go and re-read it, because there will be a chapter for that. It was already planned so, no biggie.**

**Huh, what more... NEW ARC! Say goodbye to the tragedy...? Or not? Let's just say it will be heavily involved into asserting a new threat to the Empire AND the Revolution. Oh you know who that is!**

**And next week, special chapter! It will contain three (confirmed) or four short stories. One for Seryu, another for Mein, and lastly Chelsea. The fourth one maybe Kurome... Obviously we can't separate her from Wave. Akame, pls, don't kill him.**

**So yeah... hopefully this is easier to read. Love you all, and thanks again!**


	20. Special: The Not-So Fanservice

**T-TWO HUNDRED?! Wait a second, i have to change my pants... There.**

**Well, the plot doesn't advance this week.**

**However, I pushed aside all the tragic stuff and decided to bring you some, eh... well, this side-stories didn't make it to the fic for a reason... I took the best ones though.**

**But considering my normal job, that isn't much of a praise!**

**I'm blaming the hotel's wi-fi for this lateness! What do you mean you can't get the IP?! You do it excellent when we're home!**

* * *

**First story happens unusually close. **

**In the Stylish's lab raid, Akame actually follows Tatsumi and Mein through the vent. So that means no rape. Shortly after that, to get away from the endless mutants, they explode a wall and... doesn't really work how they think.**

**This is actually a year old already. And when I wrote I didn't have in mind to write this fic so... I swear I fixed it!**

**...Ever played Altered Fable?**

* * *

_Cuddle to stay warm_

"...mi..."

...

"Tatsumi."

Nnngh...

"Tatsumi! Wake up!" The voice broke through my dizziness, and I opened my eyes out of shock.

"Akame? Are... Are you alright?" After flying off from that lab, we fell quite far off from our original position.

"I'll be fine." She looked around, trying to see where we were.

My winter clothes and the snow lessened our fall. I fell on top of my right arm, but it looks like it's not broken.

"Where are we?" I asked while caressing my right hand. Tsk... it hurts a bit.

"Did you broke your hand?" She suddenly asked, with a neutral tone.

"...Ah, it's just a bit bruised. Not broken or sprained." I got up from the ground and inspected the terrain. There's a stream right beside us."I guess I managed to catch you in mid-air. That explains why my back hurts."

"I'm sorry for that." Her apologize shocked me quite a bit.

"You don't need to apologize. Besides, who could have known that inflammable means flammable? I was the one who shot it so, I am the one who's sorry." That was pretty stupid of me, but it seems she forgives me. Or just completely hates me.

"Where's Mein?" She was uninjured, something normal for her.

Why didn't I catch Mein... She's obviously more fragile. I mean, eh, Akame surely could have survived without me. But I guess she was closer to me, so I just acted out of instinct.

We have to look for her. The snow might turn into a blizzard if we're unlucky. We have to find he soon and get off the mountain.

The blue sky that covered everything earlier had disappeared, and now it was completely overcast.

"How long was I out?" I asked. Coming from experience, we don't want to be stuck here when the night falls.

"Dunno." What do you mean you don't know?! "We have to find her."

She completely ignored my question.

"This will be our home location." I said while placing various sticks on the ground, so they don't get covered with snow.

"Oh." I couldn't depict if it was amusement, or pure confusion.

"It's because we might get lost." I quickly explained. The terrain isn't very merciful, but it's impossible to find a natural pile of sticks like these.

"I know." I can't understand this girl... "She must be close."

We started to look around. She couldn't be that far off...

What if she fell in the stream? She could be seriously injured... and with all the cold and snow...

No, I can't think like this. She's too stubborn to die like that.

* * *

"Meeeiiiin!" I yelled as I looked for something pink.

Fifteen minutes yelling and nothing... Even if she was far, I've been moving around a lot. What if she's unconscious?

Akame must be thinking the same. The first emotion I've seen her make is distress...

Perhaps she's in a tree? The upper branches are covered with leaves, so perhaps she's there?

No, she would have answered.

"Downstream." She barely mentioned as she started to walk away.

"Wait, we haven't searched this area to the fullest. We have to get all possibilities before moving on." I stopped her by tapping her shoulder, but it didn't really make her think about my proposition.

"No." Her straight answer scared me a bit. Perhaps she isn't as calculative as I thought. Maybe she's very worried. This is the longest I've talked to her, so I don't really know her.

"Come on, maybe the snow is covering her..." As negative as it is, we have to keep all possibilities on check.

"No. She's fine." Her rashness didn't really comfort me. She's just worried too, huh...

I don't want to think those things. Last thing I need is to lost someone else. I still care for her, you know...

In this cold mountain, we could only hope for the best. The stream and the wind was our only partner in this search, besides that strange v-

"... Did you hear that?" I felt my heart skip a beat.

"... Yes." That confirms I'm not crazy.

It's like a muffled voice in the distance. But it sounds like is coming from the top?

"Huh... it can't be a lady. Too many cusses." I said as I relaxed quite a bit.

Damn it, did my own screams toppled her own or what? I'm so stupid.

I looked up to see some pink clothes in the distance. She was stuck on top of a tree, not too far from where we landed. So stupid... Why didn't I look up?

I heard Akame sighing, clearly relieved that we had found her friend.

"..uck.. ou!" Mein said from top of the trees.

I guess she can't climb down.

"I'm sorry, whaaat? Are you saying you can get down alone?" For some reason, I couldn't help but tease her.

"Save her." Akame pushed me towards the tree, as if it was my fault she was there.

You're stronger than me, you can also do the dirty job!

"Gee, fine."

* * *

"I thought you guys were going to leave me here!" She almost started sobbing as soon as she got down.

Yeah, don't worry about the guy who climbed a damn tree, and brought down a girl who kept insulting him for not noticing earlier. I haven't climbed a tree in years!

"I didn't think about you being right on top of us." Akame comforted her, leaving me completely in the shadows.

So this is what I get for helping.

No wonder people is evil.

"Well, this will be a nice story. Seriously though, you're a sniper and you can't climb trees. Still, you could have called us." I teased her as I got closer to them. I don't want to be alone!

"I yelled lots of time! You're just a deaf moron!"

I suppose the sound of the stream made it even harder to hear her. Still... I'm glad she's alright.

I never... I never had to talk to somebody about the possibility of a close friend being dead. I'm always alone when that happens. However, I don't want to experience that again.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault." Akame slightly bowed as she apologized.

Did her trigger for apologies get stuck or what?

"Oh, it isn't your fault! It was Tatsumi the idiot who doesn't know the difference between explosives." That apology was filled with poison!

"What? Technically its Stylish's fault!" I tried to defend myself.

"Don't try to blame dead people for your faults." She's acting all high and mighty for someone that has been stuck in a tree!

"That's bul... Alright maybe a little."

Son of a bitch... I already told Akame it was my fault, and now Mein just brings it up! I mean, come on! If I didn't do that we'll be all dead! Why do I have to be the asshole!

Oh wow, I'm saying lots of cusses today! This is obviously not my fault. I have very toxic people around me! Well, not you Akame. You've saved me, so you get special treatment.

"Let's follow the river." Akame suddenly broke in our fight, making a truce between us.

...

We walked for two hours, and the light snow turned into a heavy storm. The blizzard I was so afraid of had apparently appeared to kill me.

The coldness we felt back then was nothing compared to now. It was impossible to see what was in front of us, and the only thing preventing us from getting lost was the river at our side.

"Let's... Let's take a break..." I heard Mein saying behind me, who was starting to get tired. Even Akame seemed to be bothered by the wind and snow.

"We can't just stop here." I said. Resting on this blizzard would be a suicide.

"You said that a hour ago." Akame replied, obviously tired.

Did I? If I stop now, then I'll lose all the will I have to continue. Still, that doesn't get rid of the real problem. There aren't any places to rest. As we've been heading down the mountain, there were even less trees. And with this snowstorm, we can't just stop anywhere.

"Ok then. I'll see what's beyond the river." The terrain over there is more crooked, so we might find something.

I've thinking about that for quite a while, but I couldn't find any shallow spots.

"Wait, we'll get separated if you do that!" Mein exclaimed while hugging herself.

"Don't worry, I can't make you cross river. Wait for a second." If something went wrong, you'd be going for a swing. And then we'll die of hypothermia.

"No way! I'm going with you!" She insisted again.

"Isn't Akame your boss or something? Shouldn't you listen to her?" I argued back.

Akame was too passive in all this. She just shrugged when I mentioned her.

"Tsk, she's not my boss! Besides, if the alternative is leaving us here, we'll walk." Mein repeated again.

Every damn time... she's driving me insane. I'm trying to look out for you too, but you still treat me like I'm some sort of useless idiot!

"Tatsumi." Akame got closer to me and got strangely close to me.

"W-What is it?" Please, don't kill me now.

"She is scared too." She started whispering.

"I know that." I replied, as I enjoyed the sudden warmth. Heh...

"She likes kind words too." What does that even mean?! "Try to watch it from her perspective."

Just what is she...

Alright, maybe I was acting a bit like an idiot. It's been a long time since I've been with so many people, perhaps I just forgot how I act. I thought she would know how I feel, like Seryu or Sayo did...

I guess I also didn't understand how she felt.

"W-What are the two of you doing!"

"Alright, let's go Mein." I looked closer to the stream, and confirmed that it wasn't too shallow.

"What did she bribe you with?" I heard Mein saying, as Akame got further away from me.

"I'll lead the way, so scream a lot if something happens, okay?" I completely avoided her question. "Akame, make sure Mein doesn't fall."

"Don't ignore my question..." She muttered as my feet touched the gelid water.

"It's slippery, so watch out."

The rocks at the bottom were making every step very difficult. The water hadn't entered my shoes yet, but they aren't waterproof. This is making me even more nervous, because falling on the water would be a death sentence.

"Baby steps... Baby steps..." I didn't know who was saying that, but it wasn't helping.

After some long seconds, I was almost on the other bank of the river, with Mein closely behind and Akame right in the middle.

"You're almost done, Mein." I took a small jump to reach the other edge.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fi-"

Just when she had almost reached the shore, an unlucky step made her fall. Akame, as swift as she was, couldn't do anything in this terrain and fell as she tried to catch her on time.

"Shit!"

* * *

I managed to stay dry during the whole river crossing, though the same can't be say for my two companions. The odds awfully grim now, but I couldn't give up so easily.

"C-Cold..."

Luckily, I found a cave nearby. The temperature won't be as low there, and we'll be safe from the wind.

As soon as I entered, I felt a bit warmer. Not enough, but better.

"Okay, this may be a little sudden, but both of you take off your clothes!" I would have wanted this to be a different situation, but right now, I'm saving lives.

No, really.

"W-What are you saying?!" Mein obviously didn't like the idea.

"You have to keep your clothes dry, or we're really are screwed." Well, I wouldn't. But my mind certainly would.

"..." She was definitely hesitant, but the will to live overpowered her shame.

I actually wanted them to strip down right after I got them out of the river, but perhaps it was a bit too much. I was lucky to spot this place soon.

"M-My tummy is wet..." What's with the sudden childishness? "But everything from the chest up is fine." She fell backwards, and even if the river wasn't so shallow... it was enough.

I would savor the moment of seeing her so embarrassed, but I didn't want them to die.

"How about the coat? Is it okay?" I quickly asked.

"Pretty much..." I nodded as I planned what to do for her.

"Good. Take off your pants, and whatever innerwear you're wearing. The boots I suppose too." This was embarrassing for me too. It's not like I use to do this.

And for the same reason, her common sense was telling her to not get undressed in front of me.

"Please, hear me out. If you don't do this, frostbite will surely appear. With that, you'll die. Trust me on this one."

"Alright..." She looked very displeased by this, but I hope she understood I'm not trying to do anything vile.

At least, I think.

"How about you Akame? It looks like you will have to take everything off... Do you at least another layer of clothes below?"

Her back and her legs were completely soaked. She fell over pretty wildly, trying to save her partner. Although that coat might still be useful.

"Yes." Apparently reading my thoughts, she gave me her coat.

Not too wet. It's still useable.

"You might (will) be cold when you've stripped down, but we'll use whatever I can to warm you up." I used we instead of I because that would sound way off.

I'll use my coat to cover Akame... and my jacket to cover Mein's legs... Good thing I brought long sleeves for my shirt. I thought it'd be too much for my agility, but it wasn't that bad.

"I have my eyes closed!" I said as I heard the clothes moving out of her bodies.

...

Well, I guess I'll be very warm.

I sat down in the cold ground as I left some clothes at my side.

"Uh... Sit there, where I left some clothes. Some are wet, but it's better than nothing."

I couldn't really see, but the lack of warm made it obvious where they were.

"Mein, cover your legs with this... and Akame, have this." Like the red eyed killer was way more exposed than Mein, I used her own clothes to cover her a bit more.

I heard more rustle, and asked once again.

"Are you legs covered, Akame?" If she made a fetal position...

"About half." Ah shit.

"If you feel very cold, you can have my pants." I don't really know her, but she has saved me a few times. I have to return the favor, so my legs aren't that important.

I felt warm as they both of them cuddled near me. Akame on my left, and Mein on my right. At moments like this, I really wished I'd be dreaming. Well, at least I'll be creating a lot of heat...

"I'll open my eyes..."

The dim light didn't hurt my eyes that much. Although my heart was pounding quite hard, I did my best to concentrate in that rock in front of me.

The rock in front of me...

Rock...

"I'm still trying to think that this isn't an elaborated ruse to see us naked." Mein said, as I felt her warm breath in my chest.

"Well, you're not naked. Even Akame still has clothes on." Too many I'd say. I-I MEAN, she has hardly any clothes. That's not better.

"Alright. Half-naked."

"I'm beginning to think that's what you want." I said. A jab in my stomach was all it took to shut me up.

The weather doesn't look like it will improve. That means our clothes won't get dry, and the night is almost upon us. All we can do is steel ourselves. And when it calms down, I'll get out and get my trusty horse. If I can ever find her.

"So... there was this Buddhist monastery high in the mountains." I tried to tell a story as everything was too quiet.

And even though I'm producing heat, I can't be turned on forever. Huh, that pun wasn't intended.

"No, don't do it. That's the one with Mongols, right?" Mein suddenly cut my story in half with her interjection.

"How do you know that?" We've only met three times, and in any of those I had enough time to joke!

"You told me that night. Along with the 'Evil Cross', 'The cursed tricycle' and the 'Dome of Doom'. Those are all chilly stories not even you like." I LIKE THEM.

"W-Well, Akame doesn't know them." I moved my left arm to prompt an answer.

"Don't want to." Really, Akame? Really?

"Tsk, fine. I have to get off- Eh... I have to keep my mind on something." Everything now had a connotation, and I don't even know what to say. "Well, alright... How about that time I fought the mafia?" I started saying again.

"Fine, go on."

* * *

"Haaaah... I'm cold." Mein said, after I kept talking about why you don't steal the mafia and get away with it.

"Was my story so cool?" I joked, trying to make me forget the plain boredom I had.

I thought that being surrounded by two cute girls wouldn't bore me, but damn, I didn't think the situation would be like this. If I move even an atom, I'll leave my hotspot and that's bad!

"I didn't think you'd say the word 'Godfather' and 'Enzo' so many times." I felt her body shivering a she said those words.

That's bad... I'm getting kinda hungry too. The only thing keeping me going is this extra-sensorial situation. It's probably also the only reason we're still alive. Also, the cave.

"Akame, how're you holding up?" She seemed way too calmed for this situation. Perhaps she's really accustomed to this type of weather.

"I'm fine." She had a strange nostalgic voice. Perhaps this situation was reminiscing for her. I wonder what could it be?

"Still, you're shivering as well. Want me to warm you up?" Somehow I think what I'm up to.

Should I say that my intentions are totally pure? No? Fine. I'm not really sure about that anyways.

"...Fine." I didn't expect that.

I felt a bit nervous as I moved my hand towards her back. Warm... Okay maybe I'm starting to lose to my senses. "I-Is this position good?"

"Mm." She cuddled even closer to me, making my heart spike on power. It wasn't that hard to daydream, but the hardest I tried to not think abot those things, the more difficult it became to maintain my sanity.

So those things touching me are her... Alright, think about dogs. Dogs...

Dogs... lick things.

Oh come on, no! This is literally the joke we used in chapter 15, but more elaborated. You're like a recycling machine of jokes.

Who am I talking to?

"A-Akame, what are you doing?!" Mein's voice scared me way too much. She blushed almost for anything since we entered the cave, and his change of positions didn't really broke that tradition. Hey, at least that means blood rushes around her head.

"Staying alive." Akame answered. So the only reason to cuddle with me is because she's dying. That's... depressing.

The life goddess of death like her depends on my own. Honestly, I think this isn't as depressing as I thought. I mean, as long as she doesn't die.

"Do you want too?" I offered the same treatment too, but that might be a bit too much.

Now I'm really not sure about what my intentions are. Good thing this didn't happen two years ago.

"What... Well, but don't touch me!" You're already doing that, where's the difference?!

I'm actually pretty surprised that her bashfulness didn't get in the way. I guess she's just following the group. Following. Like dogs!

Dogs travel in packs. Except domestic dogs. And Koro.

...

Stop the damn dogs, it's not helping! Apparently thinking about dogs only helps if I'm alone.

My trail of thought was stopped as Mein curled up way too close to me. Well, the good thing is that I didn't remove my pants.

She's my last childhood friend alive. Although friend might be a bit of a understatement. Somehow, even with our random arguments, I think she's the less likely to kill me. First it's the cold. Then Akame. Then the snow. An infection from a sudden bite of Akame. Then a random bear. And then Mein.

"Pervert. I bet this is why you wanted to cross the river." Damn you, girl with pink hair!

"Hey, it's not my fault I'm the only one who has dry clothing. Besides, you were the one who insisted." I was scared of the two of you dying! Now at the very least we won't die of hypothermia or frostbite. "By the way, don't fall asleep."

"That's too hard with you and your boring stories." MY STORIES ARE PERFECT.

"It's not my fault that Akame doesn't talk. And you're just... Well, you only talk to fight." I admitted. Really, I might have prompted a fight once or twice... She's the one who actually argues!

"That's not true!"

"And that proves my point!" You fell right in the trap!

"..." Huh. Maybe I screwed that up. "Then do something nice for me."

Fine, I'll do something nice for you. But if you complain I swear I will bite your nose.

"W-Where are you touching?!" She shivered just as soon as I touched her back. I'm just doing the same thing I did with Akame.

"Eh?" I was pretty confused, by the way. I mean, if I touched her chest or something I'd understand it. It's just the back though.

"Th-That's my waist..." Oops.

"Really? I was aiming for you back. I must have misguided my hand..." That sounded like an excuse, but it's the truth!

"That's because its cold! Here." I felt her warm hand touching my own. It felt nice.

I was about to say something when I felt an unusual sound coming from outside.

An animal? Shit, I don't have my sword. However, I do have my handgun.

"And the smells comes from... here!" I heard a female voice say as a figure appeared in front of the cave.

An enemy?

"Akame, Mein? Are you here?" I didn't recognize the voice, but the other two here did.

"Leone!" Pinky exclaimed as quick as lightning.

This Leone girl was typically happy for finding her friends, although the same couldn't be said for me. Where have I seen this woman...?

"What's Spooky Captain doing here?" Threesome.

"I don't know, last time you kicked the hell out of me."

* * *

**ANTICLIMACTIC ENDINGS!**

**This was from my original draft, where I didn't plan Seryu's "death" to be so soon. **

**It happens in the Red District Raid, right after Tatsumi and Chelsea enter the second building.**

**By the way, there was a good foreshadowing here which I couldn't fit to the actual chapter. Ah, I really wanted to say "I called it!"**

* * *

_Closet Troubles_

And third floor. Man, this second building is huge. I mean, it's pretty soundproof if you don't get close to the doors, and it smells like incense. I hope it's incense.

However, there should be way more floors to reach the roof. I'm not even sure of how I'll deal with all the guards, but the safe bet would be to knock them out without making a mess. Unless they spot me.

I turned around to go up another floor, but I noticed that the girl didn't follow. So she changed to her, original?, form. Or so I can guess.

"Hey, what are you doing?" She was heading towards the hallway filled with rooms. There shouldn't be anything there, except sex.

"You can go up. It was an honor to be with you." She excused herself, and kept walking without any care on the world.

Geez, I don't know what she's up to, but I have a mission to do.

Then again, I have a surplus of time... And I don't know if she can protect herself, so the right thing to do would be helping her.

With my decision to guard her, I started following again as she started to match her footsteps to me.

"You are really naive. Or perhaps you have another reason to follow me." Her voice sounded very demanding for some reason.

"You've helped me, so it's only fair to defend you." Technically I wasn't lying.

"Ah, that's your mistake right there." She uttered while stopping in front of a door.

I don't really want to see people doing their things... Unless this is different.

"Eh, what are you doing?" I watched the girl lock picking the door, and opened it without any dely.

"I'm a pervert who loves watching people banging." Her sarcastic tone somehow relieved me a lot.

The room she opened looked more like an office. There was a desk, filled with papers in the middle, along with some bookcases at the entrance. The selves were filled with all kind of books, along with some bizarre objects.

"Do me a favor and guard the door." My accomplice entered the room and started looking for some letter, as she was checking the papers.

She really came here for something. Maybe a love letter or something, I don't know. Whatever the Revolution wants is none of my business.

Nobody was coming, so I just decided to check the bookshelves. I expected some weird books about fetishes, but they seemed normal.

A box on the side caught my attention. It's possible there's some kinky objects there, I better not touch it.

...

Curiosity took over me, and decided to grab the box. As soon as it started to vibrate, I let go of it.

"Well, that happened..." I muttered as my eyes wandered to a small chair in front of the bookcase.

The rooms surrounding this one are surely, eh, 'working' rooms. So this chair here means that...

Aghh! Ew, ew! And then there was that thing vibrating in that box... AH! MY HANDS MUST BE CLEANSED!

This a freaking brothel! Why the hell are you masturbating, guy who owns this room?! If you have a room here, you obviously do not care about yourself!

Gah... Or maybe there's a reason not to. Conspiracies are rising here! Call the police!

Wait, technically there are garrison forces, not police. Then I'm the one who should do something.

Well, the problem at hands is...

I noticed a letter in between some books. It looked open, but to be hidden it must mean it's important.

The girl is still checking those papers over there, so I'll peek for a moment.

I honestly should have thought twice about touching the letter, but I quickly grabbed the note inside and started reading.

What the...

_ As you have requested, I have searched land and sea to find the artifact you were looking for. The Voynich Manuscript is indeed real, and not a work of fantasy and legends. The 48 teigus are listed here, but I'm afraid the material is way too delicate to see everyone. The text is not only on the Empire's ancient language, but also in an unknown language. The money we might be able to get from this would be on the levels of the own emperor, so I'll keep it brief. We'll meet in a week, in Suno..._

The letter continues, but the message is clear. A book with information of every teigu, even the twenty or so that got lost in the civil war 300 years ago. That information... would be very useful for my own rebellion.

The date of this letter is from yesterday, so I'll be able to reach Suno in time an-

"Did you find something?" I heard my companion say as I hid the note in one of the pockets i my jacket.

"Not really. Very weird things though." I made up something quickly, but she looked way more suspicious than before.

"Really?" Our glares locked for a moment. She really knows? I know she was suspicious, but she looks like a professional... No, the elite. Just what is she?

"I have a mission to do, so I'll get going." I turned around while checking my disguise.

I should go to brothels more often. I find lots of information. Although I'd need her to sneak in so easily. In that case, no more brothels.

I left the room and headed towards the stairs once again. I've barely wasted two minutes, so my head start might be lost. It was worth it anyways. I found something very useful!

"Wait up. You're going too fast." Ah, so she's still following me.

"Well, I'm in a covert operation. I can't lose any minute." I started going up the stairs, dashing through the steps like the wind.

"How much time can you afford to lose?" She was keeping up. I'm impressed.

Or scared. I mean, she freaking shifts her whole body. Of course I'd be scared of that.

"I prefer to not think of that." I briefly looked if there were any guards before proceeding to climb more stairs.

This is the fourth floor, and there doesn't seem to be any kind of patrols in this building. Hopefully, that just means more easy times for me.

"Hide!"

I was suddenly pushed into a small room, as I heard some voices in the hallway. How did she know that soldiers would appear?

"Thanks... You're too close." I whispered while keeping an ear on the door.

I tried to look around, but that was it. This was even worse than a broom closet. At least you can fit things there. And then there's this girl against me which I just noticed and I'm starting to get nervous.

W-Why is she looking at me with those eyes? This must be some kind of cover up so I let my guard down and... and... Get killed! Or mugged. Those usually come together and I can't phrase sentences anymore.

Yeah, I'm not going to fall to your dirty tricks you foul woman! I am a knight in rusted armor, which means that I can't succumb to your lady attributes!

"Move your hands." I almost jumped as she said those words.

I think I'm touching thighs. Damn it, no! My body succumbed! Why are we not coordinated?! Stupid body! It's not the time to do that! Even though we are in a place were those things are done every five minute! I swear, this is going to become a severe problem!

I raised my hands, trying to keep them out of every possible direction.

I closed my eyes as I tried to clear my mind. You've been doing it pretty well so there's no way you could actually lose track of themission now.

I focused again on the sounds of the hallway, as I started to hear the guards even further away. Good... This is good.

"I think they're gone... What are you doing?" That's my chest you're touching, you know?

"I'm trying to breath." Fair en- Wait, no.

"You can turn into a goddamn autobot, I don't think it was necessary to enter with me."

"Maybe I wanted to." Her sudden smug attitude ticked me off, but my embarrasment just made me leave with haste.

I tossed away whatever thoughts I had of what could have happened in there.

So, eh... Yeah, no. Last time I saw that happen the guy got his head cut off. Well, he kind of deserved it but...

Wait a second. Where's the letter?

"You didn't..." I turned around but she wasn't there. "That witch..."

Damn it, what did the letter say? In Suno... at... some hour... Shit! That girl just tricked me!

* * *

**Welp, last story. You could technically call this story canon to my fic, but it didn't make it to the actual story because it would feel like too much filler. **

**I really like this one for some reason. I remember having a lot of fun writting this one.**

**It happens somewhere between Zank's battle and the Red District Raid.**

* * *

_Then who was baby?!_

"Yeah, turns out they had a fuck-ton of boxes of... drugs? I guess." My sergeant Egu explained as vulgar as possible.

"Please, the formalities... Well, I didn't know drugs were liquid. I thought they were like pixie dust, or something." I said while looking at the box filled with all kinds of bottles.

"No, this is alcohol. Apparently they brewed it too, and we apparently we messed with the mafia." He explained.

The mafia. Great. I believe they're in the Red District, but they have so much strength we can't do anything. Until, you know, I get there.

A fire broke out in a building, so when we managed to extinguish it we found a lot of chemicals and materials. I didn't really know what to do with it, but since this was much bigger than expected I told the Captain about our finds.

However, for some reason, Egu brought a freaking box full with bottles that I don't want to know what they're filled with.

"Wait, and why do you have it? Aren't these... evidence?" I almost forgot of that word, so it took me a while to get it right.

"Oh come on. It was going straight to the sewers, so I salvaged some. I mean, look at this! Everclear! My throat almost got destroyed first time I tried it but I never thought I'd see it again!" He said strangely proud.

"Em... Just don't make a scene please." I said while slowly getting towards the door.

"Hey, hey. I'm not going to drink everything! This is for a special occasion like a successful operation!"

"Whatever you say." My back still hurts from all those lashes... at these times, it's better stay with Seryu, who at the very least is more kind with me. It's been just a week since I decided to trust her, but it somehow feels natural already.

"Ta-tsu-mi! My justice detector has correctly found you!" I would be startled for the sudden introduction if it wasn't so normal for me. However, for Egu, who didn't really like Seryu, was like the four horsemen of the apocalypse entering for the first time on Earth.

"I don't think that detector has ever failed." Mostly because you follow me around always.

I watched how Koro sluggishly entered the room, as if tired of following Seryu.

"Not that you know of!" She happily said.

Has she really entering random places saying my name, only expecting that I'd be there? Looks totally logical for her.

"Lieutenant, I'll proceed to leave as you have requested." Egu said in a polite voice as he robotically made his way towards the door.

Last time Seryu and Egu met, she almost tried to kill him because he apparently broke a chair. I don't know what the hell happened with that chair, but I certainly don't want to be in the middle of a fight.

Surprisingly enough, Seryu didn't say anything has he left the meeting room as stoic as ever. I should have her around always... at least she imposes respect.

"I'm still waiting for that chair!" She yelled before quickly closing the door. "I hate that guy."

"Yeah, I know." I answered, feeling relaxed as no altercation happened. "Anyways, what did you want?" I asked.

"Ah, I was going to treat your wounds and change the bandages. Yesterday it was too late and I didn't want to wake you up." She apologized like a child to her parents.

You're an expert at making me feel bad. Have you took classes for that?

"Thanks for not breaking into my room, I guess."

"What do you mean?" Her genuine reaction pretty much told me that she had entered, but like I was asleep she didn't do anything. How the hell is she able to enter my room?!

If you were somebody else, I'd be very shocked and unable to speak to you again. But like you don't mean any harm with it, I like you.

"Nothing. Let's leave before someone else comes." I opened the door as I said that, but something in the room had caught her attention.

"Ah, what's this?" She looked at the bottles of whatever alcohol there was inside with pure innocence.

"Eh, probably 95% alcohol." Huh, that should work for disinfecting wounds.

"Wha?! Tatsumi, you can't drink!" I had never seen her so shocked in my life. Well, except when Ogre died.

Bad reference. Sorry... No, wait screw that guy.

"I haven't! I don't want to be blind!" I don't even know if Egu was telling me the truth, but I don't want to corroborate that.

"If you're drunk then justice won't happen! And that means Lucifer wins!" Who the hell is Lucifer?!

"Fine, fine. Just leave them there. It's almost night, so I'm sure those bottles will disappear by tomorrow." I tried to not get her in one of her justice speeches, because she loops back so much I get unconscious.

She sighed heavily and decided to return to my side. However, she spotted something that made her kind of... melancholic.

"Hey, look. Stylish gave me this while I was being upgraded." She said while grabbing a bottle of what I could only presume it was whiskey.

"Who is Sty- Wait, upgraded? Was it that painful?" I didn't understand fully what she meant, but I do know is that alcohol is used to diminish the pain in surgeries.

"I think... But that was just the first time! All the other times I was asleep!" She said it casually, but I was stupefied.

"Other times? What did that Stylish guy do to you?" I was worried that she could be very sick or something like that, but she looked happy to talk about that.

"Ah, he's helped me to have Koro! I'm sure you'd like him too!" For some reason, I'm not too sure about that. "He also said something like; If you're body hurts after this, then drink a lot!"

That seems like a horrible advice.

"Was that before or after being the representative of justice?" That would explain a lot actually.

"I was always the representative of justice! Besides, I only drank a tiny bit, because it burned a little... and then for some reason it was already morning!" She said, embarrassed of the fact.

Stop sounding like a child. It's a cute overload over here.

"Are we sure that wasn't a somniferous? Or are your measures different than mine?" I mean, nobody can have that low tolerance to alcohol. I don't even know what mine is, but I'm sure more than that!

"I'm your big sister! So you should believe everything I tell you!"

She started to loosen the top of the bottle, which raised all the red alarms on my head.

"Don't tell me you're going to drink that." You have said ten seconds ago that you can't do justice while drunk!

"It's because you don't believe me." Are you sure you're the big sister? Because you're acting like a kid.

"That's home-brew you know? Who knows what kin- there she goes." I just realized that when she makes up her mind, it will take hell and heaven to stop her.

Whatever hesitance she had, disappeared in a matter of seconds as she chugged down the bottle, without any kind of thought of what terrible idea that was.

Moments after, she started coughing as the liquid made its way down to her stomach.

"So, bad idea?" I said as her eyes got a bit watered up.

"Maybe..." What an amazing feeling is being right. You know how many times I've been right? Twice.

"Koro! Let's go." She suddenly said, dismissing whatever happened right now.

I was about to make her a bit better, but I don't know how to do that.

"You sure know how to change of topics ipso-facto..." I muttered while following her through the hallway.

I guess I shouldn't ask her anything about that Stylish guy. I don't know what kind of upgrades you can do to a human beings, because we're not machines. Maybe he's a doctor of some sorts.

Whatever it is, I have to get a promotion as soon as I can. I don't know anything that doesn't imply fighting the... eh, Rebellion? Ah, Revolution, yeah.

"Seryu, do you know any ways to get promoted?" I asked her, who seemed to be daydreaming.

"Eh? What are you talking about? We, as inhabitants of Basileia Romaion, have to follow the rules in order to succeed in the game of justice prevalent in the society which are made up of -rulers... Or was it of justice? Justice rulers... Jus...Lers?" I raised my hand in order to stop her.

"I didn't understand a thing you just said." I don't even know what's Basili... Romai... well, whatever Roman Empire she was talking about.

"Huh. So, yeah, yeah, don't cheat. Cheating is bad, so if you cheat, don't cheat." What does that have to do with _anything_?!

"Well, I already did. Besides, you don't look very good right now."

I couldn't exactly put my finger on it, but I could she looked kind of fragile right now. Okay, let's check.

She has legs, alright. Arms are still there. Body too and... ah, yes, there's the problem.

"Sheesh, you're not leaving tonight. Go to sleep." I told her after inspecting her for a moment.

Talking about that Stylish guy doesn't make you stylish at all, Seryu.

"Oh. Fine." She started to walk away before stopping dead on her tracks and coming back to me.

"I'm your nee-san! You are the one who listens to nee-san!" She said while jabbing her finger into my chest.

Ah, what the hell... She's actually drunk. Or sick, or whatever happens. Say some stupid nobody would believe.

"Technically I'm one centimeter taller than you. That's why, in fact, I am the big brother. So listen to me." Check the wiki unbelievers! It's actually true.

"Oh." Seryu had totally believed me for a second there. Until she placed Koro on top of her head.

"Koro is taller now! He's the great chief now, so we must listen to the chief!" The dog was completely unfazed by the sudden change of its master. You don't help.

"Then you have to listen to him too, right? What is Koro saying?" I'm still not sure if it's a male or a female, and Seryu definitely doesn't help.

She pondered for a second before snapping her fingers.

"Killpeopleforjustice!" She enthusiastically said.

That's what your head is telling you every day, not Koro...

"Fine whatever. Drop Koro off your head before the weight snaps your neck." That thing weighs a ton. I couldn't even move it that night before confronting Zank.

She fortunately heard my words and held Koro like a baby, before wandering off. As if I can leave her alone.

"Hey, didn't you said that it's impossible to do justice wh-" Oh no, I said the word.

"Justice! J-U-S-T-A... Oops. Damn it Tatsu! You jinxed it!" She suddenly put the blame on me.

She's a goddamn cocktail of emotions! That couldn't be alcohol!

'Drugs can't be liquid' my ass! The hell was that mixed with?!

"Ya know what we must do?! Play tag!" She started to run, laughing like a child. Ah come on...

I hopelessly started to follow her through the uncountable hallways, suffering the glares of random soldiers as I followed the drug-tastic Seryu. That girl is still laughing like a maniac as I'm following her.

I turned the corner and tripped, almost breaking my nose as I fell. Luckily, I had enough balance to work it off.

"Wheere d'ya think yer going?!" Seryu said as she started running again.

Crap, I'll never get her if I'm being trick like this!

Calling the A team!

I used both of my hands to whistle as loudly as possible, making a very high-pitched sound.

Five seconds later, a man rushed towards my direction.

"Sergeant Egu at your service! What is it?!" He said between gasps. It seemed he had used most of his strength to get here. A little pathetic, really.

"I need your help to catch Seryu. She's running like a maniac, so I want you to help me stop her." Whatever enthusiasm he had, disappeared as I said those words.

"Can... Can I take back my previous statement?"

"No. Follow my command soldier!" I felt so pumped after yelling that!

"A-Alright!"

Thanks to this little skirmish, I had completely lost track of her. Hopefully she hasn't left the building, but I fear of whatever she's capable of.

Let's be honest... Seryu isn't exactly the most stable person in the world, and now that she's like that, I don't want her to make more stupid things. I'm starting to care about you, so don't leave me so soon!

"When we face her, I'll try to cut her off. You tackle her." I ordered my subordinate.

"Without any repercussion? Neat!" He happily said.

Yeah, I won't do anything. Seryu on the other hand...

"Sure."

We kept following the childish laugh until I faced Seryu again. What do you look so harmless now...!

"Gah! Th-That's cheating Tatsu-Tatsu!" She said while holding Koro even tighter. She has returned with the nicknames?!

"You're holding Koro, so I brought another dog with me. It's only fair." She assimilated my answer pretty happily.

"Hey, what the fu-" I quickly stop Egu's rambling, as Seryu started to run off once again.

"Shut it. Let's follow her!"

I ran as fast as I could, but even if she says she's just playing... she's going full speed. Why should I believe her drunk... drugged... eh... ass! Damn it, stop looking at it!

She slowed down to take a turn, and I quickly took that chance to catch up to her. If I fail, I'm breaking that wall from the impact!

I held forward my arm and managed to catch her arm. Just as I did, she threw Koro just over me, hitting Egu just being me. I got you now!

"IT'S BITTING ME! OH GOD, THE PAIN!"

Even if I tried my best and even trampled the floor with a insufferable noise, I crashed against the wall loudly. However, it seemed Seryu was still on one piece.

"Game's over...!" I said without losing my grip on her.

She escaped my grasp and tried crawl away. I quickly tried to pin her down, and she strangely didn't force her way out. She's stronger than me so that's weird.

"NOT THE HAND! NO! AAAHHHH!" I heard Egu struggle with Koro even more loudly than before.

"Are you done?" I said a bit obfuscated.

Even if I was pinning her down effortlessly, she could break out very easily. The fact she didn't do it was puzzling me. And my body doesn't exactly control itself when I'm so close to her.

She nodded her head as she stared into me embarrassed, or perhaps it was from all that running. Either way...

Something is telling me that I shouldn't be restraining her like this.

"We should kiss to end the tension." Her words were so out of character I didn't even considered them as an option.

...Maybe I did.

"STOP DOING WAIFU SHIT AND HELP ME!"

"I was trying to have a beautiful moment you damn drama queen!" I yelled as I got off Seryu and headed towards Egu.

Using not too much strength, I pulled Koro out of his arm which was left with lots and lots of saliva. The dog didn't even transform and he was beaten like this. No wonder they let me have an squadron...

"I'm dead, really dead..." He said while wiping off the strange liquid off his arm.

I sighed heavily and looked back at Seryu who for some reason hadn't tried to run off again. Whatever it was, she looked way more tired than before. Don't you die now.

"Come on, you're going to sleep now." I looked at her as I brought my hand forward.

She tried to get up, but clumsily lost balance and almost kissed the ground. Luckily, I was able to catch her before that happened.

"You're bad..." She slid through my body until her knees touched the ground. She then started hugging me as if I was Koro.

Gah! Hell of pleasure!

"Au...H-Hop on my back. I'll carry you." I tried to back away, but she just didn't give up. Be considerate, this is a bit hard for me! "If you don't listen, I'll tell Egu to help."

"Nooo! Not raandoom soldier #1!" She slurred while clinging to me even harder than before. Ah, my senses!

"T-That's right, if you don't listen, hell will fall upon you!" There, there.

I took advantage of her strange fear and managed to lift her up. Now, if you just put your arms around my neck... good. Now just rest your head on my shoulders...Great! I always thought you'd weigh more. Huh, good thing I didn't say that out loud.

Well, I wanted to bring her on my back, not lifting her like this. I guess it works.

Although things didn't really get much better.

"Kooorooo..." She slurred her words as much as possible. Are we sure she isn't doing it on purpose?

The dog looked completely unfazed by all this, and for some reason that annoyed me way too much. Have I ever say I don't like that helldog? Specially after it tried to eat me.

"Egu, you can leave already." He just shrugged and dragged himself out of the hall.

Someday you'll be useful.

This is strange, really. I never thought I'd be so close to her. Eh, physically I mean. No, that could be very misunderstood too. You get what I'm saying though.

Her breath seemed regular, as well as her heart. However, I didn't want to risk it. I'll see how her condition actually is.

"...It tickles..." She muttered as I carried her through the hallway.

"What does?"

"Ponytail!" Don't yell in my ear!

"Right... And where does it tickle?" I guess she doesn't mean the ponytail itself. That would be weird.

"Where I -Wait, wait.- Where yer touching!" Can't she just fall asleep?

That doesn't make any sense. Then again... yeah, drunk. Or brain dead. So that's why I have to protect her from the baddies that might take advantage of her! That's a no-no!

"So your ponytail is tickling your butt." I guess she is saying that.

"Yesh!" She is awfully happy about it.

That's her fault for having her hair so long. I shouldn't really complain, because I like long hair.

"Right. We're almost in your room, so I have to open the door." My hands are kind of full right now, so I'll have to put her down. This damn altruism is going to kill me someday.

"Ah... 'm opening it!" She almost fell off my grasp as she leaned backwards. I was barely able to retain my balance.

"C-Careful!" Why did this have to happen? This was a good day! "Don't flop around like that, just hug me."

"..." W-Why is she staring me like that? Don't puke on me, please. " I wanna a bay!"

"I think you mean baby. Oh. Eh..." I was trying to process down an answer, when she started to hug me again. With too much strength.

"Juuuustiiice baaby! And she will transfoooom and kill all those horrid people! And nom, nom, nom!" Oh god, she's killing me.

I think she's confusing babies with Koro. Or... Or Koro is a baby. That's a actually pretty sad.

"S-Seryu, I'm dying a bit. A-And open the door."

She rotated a bit and hit her head with the wall. She touched the door for a while before opening with clumsiness.

"Aww..." She moaned with a very soft voice. I'm trying to keep this for all ages, but your voice isn't helping.

"There, there. I'm going to enter, so hug me and don't fall."

I really don't know how to tell her to hold onto me, but telling her to hug me seems to work. I'm not taking advantage of her, this is all a matter of being a nice person.

"But I wanna a babeh!" Stop it, little girl!

"Fine, I'll give you a baby." Good thing I'm keeping this on context.

"Yaaay..." Her voice calmed down as I placed her on the bed. "My head hurts."

"That's the first clear statement you've said in a while. So be a nice girl and sleep like the baby you want." That was very awkward, by the way.

Maybe I should remove the armor she wears, but that is way too much for me. Last thing I need is to remove her clothes. I'll do it mental- Oh, I didn't say that.

See? She's doing it herself, so nothing bad! I should probably start leaving right about now. Last thing I want is to take advantage of her while she's like this.

I have to check if she's fine first.

"Stop moving for a second, please." I checked her body temperature with my hand, and though it isn't the best method, it works.

So she doesn't have a fever. This is good.

And now I should leave, because she's taking off her pants. And though I wouldn't mind the view, I'm not that kind of person. I would get all embarrassed I bet.

"Whaait, where ya goin'?" Don't tell me she's going to throw up.

"To bring you water." That's the best way to end a conversation.

"But mah baby!"

Oh. She was actually serious about that. Eh... Roll the credits! The side story ends here!

"What if I give you Koro? That's more like a baby." I don't know if she was actually thinking about that.

She threw me her pants as if I did something very wrong. Oh come on! I'm not going to... to...!

"I don't want to... to be alone."

If you weren't half naked, this would have been a beautiful moment. Then again...

"Fine... Just don't touch me." Or don't do bad things to me while I'm sleeping. I think the concerns should be reversed.

Maybe I should be concerned about my sleep problems. Last thing I need is to not be able to sleep and be totally aware of the situation I'd be in.

The sound of her armor falling to the ground was slightly unsettling.

She entered the bed and pointed at the side, telling me to sleep there.

"I-Inside too..." I muttered as I felt slightly nervous. "Shouldn't you be at the edge. I really don't want to be covered in stomach acid."

"I'm not sober ya idiot!" That... That probes my point.

"You mean drunk and whatever you say." All my alerts were on, telling me to not do this. But the other side told me to do it.

I'm going to hate myself for this...

* * *

My eyes slightly opened to see that I was still on Seryu's room. I don't know why, but somehow I didn't have trouble to sleep.

I'm kind of surprised she's not spooning me or something. Or maybe disappointed.

Whatever, I don't have much to do today, so I'll sleep a bit more...

"Ah! I overslept! Oh no, I didn't do a justice patrol last night and the bad-"

I heard Seryu suddenly waking up before completely stopping again.

I felt something poking my face, and I just got reminded of the situation I was in.

"I'm surprised you don't have a hangover..." I said as I rubbed my eyes.

"Hangover? I don't think so... Wait, why are you in my room! W-Where are my pants?!" Her disbelief soon turned into panic.

She doesn't remember anything?

"You told me to sleep beside you for some odd reason." I rolled to the side and fell to the ground.

Instead of feeling the cold ground, a warm and fluffy feeling covered my back. I just fell on top of koro, didn't I?

"Why would I do that? Were we under threat of an unknown entity?!" I got up from the ground just to see her wiggling around sickly sweet.

"Well, you told me you wanted a baby so when I-" T-T-The context! Where's the context?!.

I was pretty sure she was going to eviscerate me right here and there, but she just touched her abdomen. I guess the womb?

Gah! It's not dripping!

"T-That was a poor choice of words. I didn't do anything! Eh, you told me to sleep here, so I did..." That's right! It's all her fault. That doesn't improve the situation does it?

Then again, she took it rather well.

"W-Well, of course my brother wouldn't do such a thing! That'd be incest! The scandal would be epic!" Why are you proud of that...

"A-Alright, eh, I'm pretty sure I was fighting a blond girl a chapter ago, so... I'm going to leave."

"That's what everyone does! You sleep with the girl, and then try to happily leave! Well, no sir!" I really don't want to watch her, because it's the morning and I'm kind of...

"You just said I was your brother. Wait, where's Koro?"

* * *

**Another anticlimactic end.**

**I had planned to show an scene of Esdese that didn't really make it to the fic... Let's just say that it will never see the light of day.**

**Well, I guess this is it for now. Perhaps I'll make another fic just for these stories. I have too many of these hanging around, and it'd be a waste to just delete them.**

**Next chapter will be the last one of this sad arc! However, next arc will involve the Jaegers more. And ****_that _faction too. Moral decisions! And this time, it won't end with different colored fireworks!**

**So, yes. Thanks a lot for reading this far! I'm very hyped for this next arc, because... JBSDBFA,SHBF,A! I'm hyped for my own story!**

**Thank you yet again. Have a wonderful day! Or night, not discriminating!**


	21. Caged Freedom

**Dorothea is not Black Alice. Dorothea is not Black Alice. Dorothea is not Black Alice. **

**No more one hit KOs. No more transformations. No more vore.**

**Wait, what are you doing with bear plushie? OH SHIT. NO. NO. NO!**

* * *

**Enslaved Soldier Arc**

_**Caged Freedom**_

* * *

_I walked through the paved road silently. The trees surrounded every step I made, as if not letting me see around me._

_I remembered walking through this path, and stopped. This has happened before._

_A sound suddenly filled the silence, and all the trees suddenly lost their leaves._

_As the sun slowly disappeared from the sky, I looked over to a tower in the distance. _

_I have been here before._

_Right after the sun was replaced by the moon, a lightning bolt completely vaporized the tower's top. Along the debris, I saw something else falling._

_Last time, the falling girl shot a hole through my chest. With this in mind, I tried something different._

_I rushed towards the falling person, and successfully saved her from a definitive demise. Her pink hair reminded me of what happened here last time._

_Instead of letting her go here, I ran away from the tower while carrying her._

_When we were far enough, I gently dropped her off. _

_She kindly thanked me, and I felt my heart skip a beat as she hugged me. Only to stop permanently._

_An sharp, almost unbearable pain struck the back of my neck._

_My body gave up on me way before my mind. I couldn't breathe anymore. My heart had just stopped there._

_The last thing I felt were her tears dropping on my face._

* * *

No more confusing dreams... I wasn't even sleeping. I feel like I've been out for a month.

"Ah... my guardian angel..." I muttered while enduring a strange weight all over my body.

Oh no, this weight is breathing! And has a beating?! I think it's also bleeding all over my clothes. What was I doing?

"Ew..." I pushed aside Dorothea's unconscious body off me. I don't know what the hell just happened, but she's still alive. I have to end this.

I looked at my side to see my sword still stuck in the same place. I weakly removed it, and approached Dorothea with a slow but steady pace.

I didn't feel happy, or sad. I just wanted to end this once and for all. I couldn't help but feel like this has happened already.

I raised my sword and expected to pierce her heart. No use in torturing her now, if she's unconscious. It's not like I would enjoy it much.

"Would you mind telling me what are you doing?" Somebody stopped my arms, sparing the alchemist's life.

"...Isn't that obvious?" I looked over to the ever smiling man, as calm as ever.

Ran just appeared out of nowhere. Which means he had been just watching, or just stumbled across and decided to intervene. But his damn cool aura tell me the former is way more likely.

"Yes, but I'm afraid that whatever the reason is, I can't allow it." Ah, how about no? I have the chance and he's not going to take it away.

The frustration I felt at that moment quickly became anger. No, _rage._

"What? Do you also have a death wish?" I have a freaking dragon sword and you bet I will use it!

"You're usually far more composed. Calm down and then I may explain myself."

"I'll calm down. When I kill her." I tried to break away from his grasp, but I was way too weakened to do that.

I looked over to Egu, who was unconscious as well. Or dead. Which means I can't rely in a surprise attack.

Tsk... I'll have to speak my way out. But I'm not calming down.

This fucking girl has more luck than a leprechaun. Seriously, why does nobody kill her?! Let me! Let me do it! I'll even use only my hands! Just strangle her to death! Painless, I assure you!

"To think that you're protecting that... waste of air. I thought we had the same objective, it was just a cover up to let my guard down?" I struggled hopelessly as he pushed me aside from Dorothea.

"That was a big misunderstanding. Let's say... that I'm trying to find the rabbit den, but I don't know where it is." Why does he speak in symbolism? Just say what you want to do!

"You're following Alice, because she's following the rabbit. No wait, she's the rabbit. So.. what? Speak clearly for once!"

I thought he was talking about Alice in Wonderland, but I think he's trying to tell me something else. No more similes, please.

"I thought you liked classics, guess I was wrong. I'm trying to find someone, but she's the only one that can lure them out. This is why I cannot let you kill her. She's way too valuable." He lost his smile with that sentence. Perhaps... he also has something to deal with.

"...I don't know why you're telling me this, but my mere existence is pending or her life. If she lives, I die."

I tried to move once again, but I couldn't do anything now.

I lost. There's no way she is not telling that I killed Stylish, and I won't be able to recover in time. Then I'll have to incapacitate Ran now.

I stuck the sword on the ground again, but unlike last time, nothing happened. Shit.

Come on dragon...!

"Trust me once, and I'll show you that his temporary alliance might be worth it for you. You're as valuable as her, so why would you think that I'm trying to deceive you?"

This feels like extortion.

Wait, I'm valuable? I don't know how to take that. It means he also has something in mind for me.

... I don't have any other option. It's a dead end for me either way.

"How do I know you'll keep your word? We aren't... in the same group." I averted my eyes, and removed the sword from the ground. It weighs a lot now.

"That's precisely why you can trust me." His words were so inconsistent I had trouble following the conversation. Does he believe I'm intelligent or something? I'm no idiot but perhaps he does it on purpose.

Give me a straight answer already!

"I don't know what you're suggesting." I admitted.

He, however, was very pleased about my answer.

"I see you are understanding it." A more natural smile replaced his normal expression.

"The Jaegers can't know about it, is that it?" The slight change on his expression was all I needed to relax. "If I do this, will I be able to finish what I started?"

"That'd be your reward." I could also see a shift on his tone as we approached equal terms.

That's a pretty lame reward. I want an advance payment. Like cutting her tongue. And hands so she can't write. Then, although pretty messed up, we'll be able to talk!

"And you're doing this because...?" I tried to find any kind of quirk that he may have when lying. However, I didn't notice anything strange.

"Reuniting with her friends." Oh wow, he's a comedian too. "I could ask the same thing to you, but I'm sure you wouldn't answer."

"And those 'Friends' have teigus?" If I could get them, I'd be much stronger. Not individually, but you know what I'm saying. Having Dorothea's teigu would also help.

If those "friends" have teigus, not only I will be a step ahead of the Empire, I'd be a force to be reckon with. Assuming I'm actually something by that time.

"Perhaps they do." His brief answer made me assume they do have them.

Next objective is set. Not only I'll be able to get rid of that alchemist, but I'll be able to be a threat with those Imperial Arms. It's a win-win situation.

"What's the plan then? Because if she talks I..." I addressed that problem once again, just in case.

"I'd like to speak about this in a more... safe environment." He waved his hand to emphasize the issue.

"Please, don't let her say anything." I insisted once again.

"Likewise." What...?

After an awkward silence, I decided to keep up with another activity. I'm not really fond of sensei over here. We might be allies for now, but he's like a puppeteer.

"So, yes... I'll help my, eh, subordinate and I'll meet you as soon as I can." I can't help but feel that he's coaxing me. "Then I'll see that master plan of yours."

That was irony, by the way.

I sighed heavily as he had led the entire conversation once again. I'll have to be more aggressive with him. That's right... Aggressive. I'll have my hands tied behind my back, just in case.

_"Eh... you know what I'd do?" _I grimaced as I heard that voice once again.

I tried to look away from Ran and ended up seeing Seryu again.

I have to bring Egu to the infirmary or something. God knows how many bones that hit broke. It'd be bad to have him out of commission for too long, because I don't really talk to anybody else from my- I guess that explains why people are starting to dislike me.

_"Teigus are very important... Without them, you can't really be threatening in this world."_

Yes, I know that. I repeated it several times.

I looked how Ran checked the alchemist's vitals, and confirmed she was still alive. After that he gave a weird look before leaving with the old hag.

_"Hey, hear me!"_

No, I won't!

Shit, I'm acknowledging her existence. I think that's bad. Well, seeing and hearing her is actually pretty bad already.

Meh. As if this is affecting me.

I shook my head and saw that my clothes are stained with her blood. I'll have to burn these clothes, because I don't know how to explain this to whoever asks.

_"Tomato sauce?" _

Ignore the girl. Ignore her...

I approached my fallen soldier and realized he was still breathing. That must have been a close call. Dorothea must have been weak enough to not deal a killing blow. I'm sure I wouldn't be able to block her and live, much less him.

I sighed once again as I realized that I had filled one hole only to make another. Even if somehow that alchemist leaves me alone, now I have to keep my promise to Ran. Hopefully it will mean less... less that.

I tried to think how to move him out of here. Ran just booked it without even lending a hand, so he obviously doesn't want me to have an easy life. Not much of a change, really.

However, after this... I think this fight just made me realize that I'm actually scared of... that dragon. It wasn't scary, not in the spooky way. It was like something you don't want to mess with, and it obviously wanted to do something with me. So, in order to not be scared I'll have to control this teigu. I mean, giant dragon seems pretty cool but I don't how the hell I did that.

Can't he just appear in a dream and guide me? You know, like some deity that helps me through the journey.

"Goddamn it..."

* * *

I managed to get Egu out of the palace and into an infirmary. The look of the palace guards was hilarious, although the same cannot be said for the ones in the barracks. I mean, I wasn't exactly bleeding, but that girl has bled all over me. Look at these stains! What am I supposed to say?!

I couldn't let anyone question me about this anymore, so I removed my jacket and shirt. Although it'd be all fun and hilarious to just walk around like this, I don't want the Ice Queen to jump at me like a dog in heat. Well... I mean, not now.

Like I was in the barracks now, I was able to get a uniform. Although gray isn't exactly my favorite color, it was better than nothing.

"This is mine..." I muttered while finding a brown long coat.

I probably left it here when I was suddenly pulled into the Palace. I couldn't grab everything, so I guess I forgot it.

I suppose you'll be coming back home.

Having everything I needed and feeling a bit stronger than before, I decided to go back and face my demise... or rise from the ashes.

My paranoia and common sense were teaming up, making me think twice what I was about to do. If everything goes wrong, well, killing everyone! That's the best strategy.

I've been thinking, that whatever tree is giving me these rotten lemons should just be pulled out and replaced by a damn palm tree. At the very least, when the stupid coconut falls from the tree, it can kill me right away and not with a stupid infection.

Seriously. "Oh, Tatsumi, you've finally reached the Capital and helped a little girl!" And then bam! No more childhood friends!

Another example? " Oh, Tatsumi, you're finally in the army!" And bam! There goes my last friend!

Not enough? "Oh, Tatsumi, you've finally taken your revenge!" And bam! Fucking demonic vampire female Nicholas Flamel appears and ruins my life!

I don't know why I'm not a zombie yet, but it's getting ridiculous! What's next? Come on! I can't wait! What's it going to be? Something like, I'm actually the descendant of the first emperor and for that I somehow have a terminal disease?!

What is it? Fate? Is this the destiny I am determined to follow? If so, I'm tired of it. Since the first moment.

So you know what? To hell with everything. Fate wants me to fail. It wants me to bow down again, and just erase me from this world, is that it? Well, try it. Try again. Come on, what are you going to take away from me now?

An arm? Not necessary.

A leg? Just a flesh wound.

My life? Ha, as If I had any left.

This. _This _situation is perfect to me. I don't have anything holding me back. I can act without any kind of remorse.

...

The way back to the Palace was way calmer than usual. I didn't feel bad or good, but it was as if nothing was wrong. I wasn't even bothered as I watched the soldiers of the Palace once again.

"Sup guys." I said peacefully while I entered the palace once again.

They no longer speak to me. Perhaps saying that Esdese would torture them was too much. But I think we're friends now!

However, the calm I felt was dissipated as I entered the Palace. The eerie silence that followed me all along until I reached the entrance was disturbing. As I entered, none of the guards even looked at me. I suspect that it's because I was no longer suspicious.

Later, as I entered deeper into the belly of the beast... I felt at peace. There was really nothing I could do anymore. I just had to sit back, and wait. This time I have also fought with all my might.

But... Unlike the other times, I don't feel hopeless, useless or guilty. Why is that? I have failed again. Why am I ready to face the consequences now? It makes no sense.

People are sad. People are broke. People are worried. People are worried that they're not enough and not amounting to anything and they don't feel good about themselves. People have rough times, and everybody's pretending it's not true.

Have I grown accustomed to failure? Or perhaps...

_"Or perhaps we have found the light." _I felt a small prick in my neck as I heard her once again.

The light out of this mess. That's right... The light I have forgotten.

I _cannot _do this. There's no denying that. I'm simply not strong enough. I'm simply not smart enough. That is exactly what I've forgotten.

So why should I bear with everything then? If I can't do this alone, I'll need help. I've not only forgotten my weakness, I've forgotten myself.

_I am_ Tatsumi. I, since the very beginning, said that I'd need people to help me. Why did I forgot that? All this agony I've suffered almost made me disappear, just because I forgot an essential part of me. As much as I said that I needed people, I didn't do anything to actually gain them.

The plan. The plan it's been right before my eyes and I haven't done anything.

Who said that people had to actually think like me to join my cause? I just need strength.

I'll scratch every filter I have. I don't care if you don't have morals, the only thing I need is loyalty. I don't care what you do in your free time. Though I might probably kill you if I know. The only thing I care about is loyalty.

_"Oh? I think it goes like this. You use your fine lies and convince Ran to help us. After that, drag that pink hair tsundere to our band. Luckily, the Jaegers and Night Raid will have bled each other out and by then, you'd become a General, thus making Esdese our ally. The final BOOM will be the one that blows the Emperor's brains out!"_

Making Mein join me wouldn't be that bad... And Ran helping us seems a given at this rate. I mean, helping me. I think the Prime Minister is way more of a cancer to the Empire than the...

No, even if I somehow lured Mein to me, which I doubt, we lack firepower. I'm not sure if I'll be able to become a general, so relying in that miraculous Esdese to help will mess the plan.

_"That might be..."_ I started to see Seryu once again. This is weird. _"Now, we have like... 200 men. We'd need, at the very least 2000 to be a minor threat. And thus far, we only have one teigu. Bad, bad, bad." _

"And the best case scenario without Esdese...?" I muttered while walking down the hallway.

_"Huh, 10000 men, you and dragon thingy... We need more teigu-users." _ What the hell, I'm casually talking with her. Well, not a threat.

Wave? I can't know for sure, but he's a possibility... Kurome is excluded for obvious reasons. Bols? No... even while feeling guilty he's still loyal to the Empire. Ran is possible, but it all depends on this mission he's dragged me into.

Akame? Very funny. Mein? Highly unlikeable. Scary cat-lady? Ha! Thread guy? I won't even answer that.

Zank's teigu is god knows where. Koro is... And those scissors... Huh, the scissors. Let's add that to possible teigus.

_"That leaves the Prime Minister's son. Who obviously won't help. Aaaand..."_

"Nop. Killing her."

_"She's also an alchemist. Could pretty much reinforce the army! And reinforce you too. In various ways."_

"Shut up."

Tch, if Esdese just helped, everything would be a piece of cake. But relying on that would be pretty bad. In theory, the only one who can beat her anyways is Budou.

But the Great General helping me? That's even more unlikely than Esdese.

Agh, where will I get the help from besides Ran? If Seryu was here then everything would be way easier. If I could have something that controlled people, or I don't know, something to convince them ipso facto.

_"You know, there's a very easy way to convince Esdese."_

And that's plan D. Which will only happen when I snap and run out of ideas. Until then, I prefer to be the incarnation of pureness on Earth.

_"I think killing people removes the whole purity you had. Besides, you've already done some things with that old lady."_

What old lady? I've only done that Do-

Oh.

I covered my mouth while yelling in disgust as a gross feeling covered my whole body.

Then I remembered what I did with said hands and proceeded to removed them from my mouth. For some reason, the need of washing my hands was the only thing that I had in mind.

C-Calm down! S-She was young when it happened! B-Besides, I didn't want to do anything so, I, eh! Dirty! Everything's dirty!

_"Well, it felt pretty tight. Hey, what if we fingered the wrong hol-"_

"Shove it!" I slapped the air, trying to hit my irrepressible headache.

_"What is it? Are you telling me you didn't enjoy ever so slightly? I know you did." _ I felt her body pressing against my back but I moved away before she could wrap her arms around me.

This is the first time she's reappeared so fast... It's starting to get worrisome. I might have judged too soon about not having any side-effects.

_"The fact is, you liked every moment, didn't you? Because you love to be controlled. You lack the power to be self-sustaining, because you were born to be a slave. Whether is by pretty words like your parents, by a pure dominatrix like Dorothea or by the beautiful claws of fate. You've never had a choice in the matter." _

"That's not true!" As soon as I raised my voice she disappeared once again, but I knew my nightmare was not over.

_"Is that so? You've suffered so much, passed through so many death sentences like nothing and yet, you somehow are still here. That's because you are already a slave. Of something called fate. And your fate is to suffer through endless scenarios."_

I looked to my left, just where her voice was coming from to only be received by nothingness.

_"And the worst thing? You love it. Every scenario could have been easily avoided, but you just let them happen. You could have easily handled the bandits that attacked you and your friends, but you just decided to run. You could have simply told me the truth, and I would have stayed in the Capital. You could have easily joined Mein and kill Dorothea before she became a problem."_

Every time I tried to pinpoint her location, she appeared elsewhere. Little by little, I felt myself collapsing even more.

Not affecting me. That's right... I'm totally fine. S-She's lying, so it's fine. I am not a slave.

_"Besides, why you're so angry about that last one. You saw like... lesbian attempted rape. Diet rape. Rape lite. Rape Zero. Enjoy the new taste of Ne-"_

"Get out. Get out of my head!"

_"What, don't enjoy my voic-"_

"SHUT. UP."

_"You're going to defile me with those harsh words."_

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I punched her figure, but it just disappeared in the thin air.

As I saw her reappear beside me, I tried to move again. I was more sluggish than usual.

That's strange. I can't see anything here, but it feels like I just hit something. Agh, that's not important.

_"What would the moon knight do right now?" _ A chilling hand caressed my cheek, as if trying to deceive me from reality.

_"Take the young princess and make her his bride, or take the beautiful queen and brush it aside."_ Seryu recited as if it was a poem.

I was trying to remember if said quote was in the book, but I looked at her enigmatic spins around herself. Then she stopped and looked at me. And somebody slapped me. I say somebody because it definitely felt real. And an illusion can't do real damage.

I was surprised, of course. Normally things you see in your head hurt you mentally. And the pain was pretty real.

It was right there and then when I though; Wow, I really need to visit a psychology.

"Ser-... S...S...S... Sdesu." My voice weakened as I realized that I wasn't seeing an illusion anymore.

That slap had cleared my senses in a very strange way. Now I was seeing Esdese for some reason, but I don't think it was an illusion anymore. And she was pretty mad for some reason. Huh, I guess I got rid of one master but I still have this one. Freedom, am I right?

"Who were you talking to?" Her calm tone of voice, along the lack of her normal sweetness with me was... worrisome.

Why is everything so cold...

"Not to you." I blurted out the first thing that popped in my mind.

My voice might have been totally normal, but my body language wasn't. I accidentally took a step back which was enough to get caught.

"Really?" I'm not really lying though.

"I don't know, ask me again." In my head it sounded perfectly normal for some reason, but the way her expression shifted told me otherwise.

She looked at my eyes for a moment, and as if seeing something woefully wrong, she sighed heavily.

"What have you done?" Her voice was more stricted, as if she was... disappointed? I can't really describe it...

Maybe it's a tricky question.

"What have I what?" I feel lightheaded now. Pretty sure I'm not bleeding out, so why? Must be the tension.

"Don't avoid the question."

I don't feel threatened for some reason. That's weird. I mean, I don't have anything to hide besides... well, everything. I tend to forget I'm living in a minefield.

Oh yeah, I should answer. I think I'm starting to become a lunatic. That's bad.

"I don't understand what you're talking about." I answered much to her displease.

"Alright then." She approached me without making a sound, pushing something against my neck.

It didn't let me breath normally. My trachea was sure having a fun time with it. Could this be...

A collar?!

"W-What are you doing?" I tried to get rid of it, but it was already locked in place. Come on, what have I done now?!

_"Oh, oh! I know the answer!" _I felt something controlling me and I just acted out of instinct.

"Shut up!" When I realized I shouldn't be saying things with Esdese right in front of me, it was already too late.

What do I do? Now she's going to question me, and then, and then I'll get...!

"Tatsumi?" I shut my eyes as tightly as I could and let whatever has to happen, happen. "Since when have you been having hallucinations?"

Shit.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I was being... rude? You know, eh, fetishes?" There isn't a way out of this! I can't tell her that my non blood related sister is haunting me for some reason.´

She isn't a ghost! It's all my mind. I can't tell her that because of my ineptitude and Stylish, I started hearing things... And then thanks to being in that laboratory of doom, I started to seeing her way more normally than before. Basically, I can't tell say that I'm a psycho killer.

_"Qu'est-ce que c'est?" _Holy crap, even with my eyes closed, she's still in my head.

"What's wrong? You were in perfect shape and three days ago you suddenly get ill. Not to mention you haven't been yourself since then." She remarked.

Although I'm sure there was kind intent behind those words, I interpreted them as a hidden dagger below a pillow. If I answer wrong ,that imaginative dagger might kill me.

"What do you mean I'm not myself? I am... I am me." I couldn't get the words right. I don't know if I was scared, or if my brain waves were getting messed up along the way but that definitely didn't help.

"I can't really believe you if you say those words with your eyes closed." I prefer to have my eyes closed, thank you.

I heard her sigh after my silence but rather than disappointed, she didn't leave or punish me.

I felt her hand caressing my slightly irritate cheek, before sliding through my neck and... the shoulder? Why is she... Oh that fucking alchemist and her vampiric fangs of doom! Tell me they heal on their own! Like the bites from real vampires! TELL ME!

"What is this?" She asked full aware of what they were.

Don't freak out! DON'T FREAK OUT.

Calm down, it doesn't have to be from a woman or even a human, you know? Maybe I'm into crossbreeding or something?!

But when I started feeling her killing intent, whatever thought of self-defense I had vanished a little. And considering the state I was already, well.

"W-Well, um..." If I don't give a straight answer, I'm going to die.

"Who bit you? Who drugged you?" I didn't expect that. Definitely didn't.

Drugged? Wouldn't it be poison? Why am I thinking of that now?

"What do you mean? Nobody has..."

May I repeat again how much I hate that alchemist? She drugged me? How the hell did she have drugs in her mouth?! But I don't feel bad or anything! Besides, last time she bit me I didn't...

Well, I was a bit suicidal and everything, but that has another explanation. The only weird thing I've experienced isn't even seeing Seryu, I mean, that already happened even before that. Yesterday, I did feel... well, a bit too aroused by everything but that has an explanation too, I think...

"There isn't a swelling and you aren't bleeding. Are you having any other symptom besides hallucinations? Your heartbeat seems normal. Are you feeling drowsy? Any trouble breathing? Do you have trouble speaking? A headache perhaps?"

I should open my eyes again because she hasn't said anything about how the hell do I have two holes there. In the shoulder.

"Well...No?" I don't why do you ask me, I'm not a doctor, I don't know biology!

But now that you mention it, I do have a bit of trouble talking...

"...Who did it?" And I closed my eyes again.

Shit, if Dorothea has told Ran then I might be in trouble if she dies. He told me she was essential to his plan, and even though I'm not really a part of it, I don't want him getting the wrong idea. So, if I tell her it was the alchemist then... Ran might very well just tell everyone that I killed Stylish. And I don't think he'd want to rape me in exchange.

But if I don't tell Esdese it was Dorothea, then she'll think I'm protecting her and then I'll die. Tortured. She might love me and all, but I don't think she's _so _in love with me. Right? Right, guys? Guys?!

You know what? I'll take my chances and hope that Dorothea is still unconscious. Ran might be a bit mad if she dies, but hey, what is he going to do? I'm not the one doing crafty things. Well, I am. But he doesn't know. Maybe he does. Whatever.

Now, say the message clearly and calmed. There's no reason to be nervous. Except the whole torture thing.

"It was Dorothea!" And it seems like I'm freaking out. "There was a cape and then I somehow was in the ground and, and, I didn't do anything, anything! I was forced, forced!" Why am I repeating every word?!

I didn't say anything else because I felt she was going to have a mental breakdown if I actually mention what happened.

So when she just gave me a kiss, turned around and saw how her sadistic being came into place, I must say... I was pretty happy. Like wow, fucking finally somebody's going to kill that girl.

Hell, see this moves? I'm freaking dancing of happiness!

But as they say, it's not over until the fat lady sings. I don't know which fat lady is doing the singing or where she's planning on doing her singing. But if I find out where she is, I'd like to put her out of commission for a year.

And now cease the happy dance, because we have to make sure Ran isn't a treacherous bastard.

* * *

I didn't know where Ran was at, and that was horrible. I was literally searching without any specific filter.

What are the chances?! I want this girl to die, and she doesn't die. And now she's gonna die, Ran might get upset and I'll die. Who the hell predicted that I'd haul ass to make sure she doesn't die yet?!

Besides, I still have this collar around my neck and that's pretty very humiliating. Why did you put me this?

Oh, and somehow Dorothea infected me with some stupidass drug-poison-venom thingy when she bit me. I swear if I have syphilis, I'm going to murde- Shit...

_"You have some bad luck issues." _ AND THEN THERE'S THIS GIRL!

Why?! Why can't I be happy?! Is it you fate?! Well, come over here, I'm going to beat you up until you say that _things _are going to go _my _ way. There will be candy, totally not dead people and a whole lot of happiness and ice-cream.

_"Left."_ As soon as I heard that I turned right. _"Meany."_

Why is she so bipolar? Sometimes she's murdering my mental state and suddenly a second later she's telling me what to do. I guess that's completely linked to my mind or something. Which would justify my sweet tasty craziness.

Oh, would you look at that. Act normal.

I saw Ran as soon as I turned the corner, and decided to play it cool.

Breath, everything is going to be great.

"I believe you... wanted to talk?" My tongue rolled in an awkward manner.

He heard my voice and turned around. His expression, as always, was covered behind a false smile. However I could feel something... off...

"Ah, you're still here?" What? Did he expect me to run? "Forgive for asking, but you wouldn't know why the Commander had an intense bloodlust?" His voice gave away a small amount of resent.

Who is the commander? Ah, yeah. My love. Technically is her love for me. Not the other way around.

"...In my defense, she forcibly undressed me." Technically.

It didn't take any more words for him to understand the situation.

"Did you tell her that it was..."

"I didn't want her to think I was cheating on her!" Although we're not dating. "Besides, between my life and that pain in the ass, the choice is obvious."

I carefully watched any movement, trying to decipher if he knew my sins. However, he hid his true emotions very well. He may have been lying since the first time we met, but I don't have any evidence yet.

"I've waited a lot for a chance like this and though I wouldn't mind waiting again, I won't let this happen if there's even a small opportunity to salvage this." He seemed sincere about this.

"What do you mean?" I felt a small shiver down my spine.

Ah, no, no, no...

"You're the only one who can control Esdese, so tell her just to spare Dorothea." His eyes completely deceived his true intent. How he arched his eyebrows when he referred to me, gave it away.

"You already know, don't you?" I said plain and cold. There's something wrong, and that is the only answer.

He didn't look surprised at all. So at least he thinks I'm not that dumb. I was really expecting some strange philosophical rant, but it was different.

"If you could stop Esdese, I'd really appreciate it." Straight up ignoring me? Does he really think I'd fall for that?

"So what if I don't?" If he knows, at the very least, I want to know what his limits are. He might have not like Stylish at all. Though the whole helping Night Raid might lead him astray.

"Nothing." His answer caught me off guard.

"What?"

"Unlike Esdese, I don't want to force any human being into tasks tha-"

"The hell are you saying?" Is he... Is he really choosing to not do anything with the info? Or does he not know?

No, he must know. So why does he not do anything with it? Is he really expecting me to help him out of... pure kindness?

"I thought that you'd be willing to help." He can't be that stupid. There's obviously a trap here. It's like a hole with a sign that says that there's no hole below it.

Right? Or maybe it's just... that it's been a long time since I saw goodness in this world. Besides, if I help him, I'm sure he'll return the favor.

Yeah, this is the first time I've been tasked to do something not because I was ordered to, but because I was asked to.

I'm totally not trying to manipulate him.

"...Alright, I'll help. But tell me one thing. What were you doing before you found us?" I'm referring to the fight.

"I've been keeping my eye on you two. Something has been bothering me since she appeared." If what he's saying is true, then that could be bad news to me.

If he has seen me outside then he must know that about what happened in that alleyway. But if he knows that Night Raid has been right outside the door, why is everyone so calm? Hopefully he only has been watching us inside the palace which shouldn't be enough, as he has only been here since yesterday and I've been out of commission for three days so... Unless he somehow saw me doing... eh, those things with her then there shouldn't be nothing to worry about.

"Are you alright? You look rather pale." His voice warped me back to reality.

"Yes, I'm perfect. What are you going to be doing in the meantime?" He flicked his hair before answering.

"I'll try to get General Budou. He's the only one who she can consider a threat. It might be enough to make her calm down." He emphasized the word 'Threat' for some reason.

I saw Seryu appearing besides Ran, shaking her head for some reason. Not again!

"And where's the alchemist? It'd be a nice touch if you told me." I asked, trying to hide my unhappiness.

"She should be around here." And that doesn't tell me anything.

"So she is still breathing, and she left you." It was unusual to hear Ran say so little information.

"I did what I needed to do." He sounded rather suspicious telling me that.

Did he put her a bandaid and just rolled with it? What did he want to do with that old lady? It even bothers me how he said that I was as important as her. Why did he say that? Because I somehow control Esdese...?

Even if I ask him, I doubt he'd say anything.

"And did she tell you anything?"

I felt the temperature drop as soon as I mentioned that. The only way to fight Ran is through words, and that is something I'm horrible at. However, this is the first time I've saw him pause like that.

"She didn't tell me anything. Although I'd suggest you to pick some less busy areas to play submission." He bowed slightly and went his way without saying anything else.

He _knows_. He must know. He's trying to make me think about other things, so I don't think that he can pull the trigger. But then, shouldn't he use that to his advantage instead of fooling around?

He's trying to trick me for some reason. Or did Dorothea really evade him, and didn't say anything?

_"Well, he knows at least what you did in the entrance. Which is strange, because there were only two people there. It was her fault for moaning like that. In any case, I've never thought you'd be such an idiot."_

And there she goes. I'll try to stop Esdese somehow. I'll have to follow the rage and then stop her with... kisses or something.

Wait, what the hell did he meant by control her? I don't even know how to talk properly to her! She's the dominant in the relation, not me! She clearly told me to not try to change her because I was going to be the one who changes.

_"And why are you trying to be nice again? I thought two deaths were enough. When you said the whole 'recovering your ideals' I didn't know you said to revert back to being an useless retard. More than now anyways."_

Shit, if she keeps rambling, I'm going to kill myself. I can't bear with her for too long, and now I don't have Esdese to slap me back to reality.

Just go to stop her.

_"By the way, you got played real nice by that intricate webweaver. And you knew it, but chose to not believe it. My god, why have we reverted so much in thirty minutes?"_

"I know that he's plotting something. And he knows that I killed Stylish. The thing is that he doesn't have any evidence besides Dorothea's testimony." In the hypothetical case she told him. "But thanks to Esdese now it's not relevant. Who's going to believe someone that has hurt her poor Tatsu?"

_"Ohh, did you really think that through? Just because she doesn't believe him, it won't stop Ran from knowing your secret."_

"Well, we don't know if he actually knows what I did a-"

Shit, I'm talking to her again. And I actually spoke out loud like an idiot. She's not here, so you have to endure it.

What I was trying to say is that I need allies, no matter how. If Ran knows, then I'll have to make him feel empathy. I don't know if Stylish and Ran were friends, but if he discovers what he did, that shift the balance quite a lot.

_"So you're trying to deceive everyone to work with you. What are you going to do when all of them know your lies and gang up on you?"_

...When that happens, the Empire will be already gone. I'm not going to be Emperor, the people will decide who is going to be the... eh... president? I think it's that.

_"And if they choose you?" _

"Hey, it's a coup d'état. I will just be known as the guy who was stupid enough to actually do it. Then whoever wants can come and clean the mess for me. Probably the Revolution..." Yeah, I'm not a politician. And if somehow things still go south, well, we can repeat the coup again.

_"I thought you didn't like what your master told you. Why don't you join the Revolution then?" _Good, at least she is still normal. I wonder if she can hear all this.

"Gee, I don't know. What part about civil war sounds appetizing to you? Families torn apart because they support X or Y. People killing each other for reasons they don't even truly know. At least, if I do a coup, only around... I don't know, 500 lives will be lost." More or less. I mean, I didn't really count the soldiers that will die. And aristocracy. And all those corrupt people.

...

_"Tatsumi? Why did you stop?"_

I was walking pretty fast, but a sudden ache in my abdomen made me stop. I stopped by one of the large windows that covered part of this corridor.

Ah no... my stomach is like that one time. Did I get drugged when I first fought her?

After she bit me in the Stylish Raid, what happened? The depression, followed by a general unrest and then I threw up. A day later I passed out.

And now, I got pretty depressed with Seryu, I feel pretty strange talking and my stomach is telling me to evacuate from the throat. But I don't remember going that fast.

Wait, what happened after I got a bit better? I felt a bit too... eh, aroused. And then Dorothea tried to give a footj- Wait, but how could she know I wouldn't die that day? I don't think she's that clever. Besides, if you're going to have poison in your mouth, at least make sure it kills your enemy.

Perhaps this is just a big coincidence.

Well, that doesn't deny the fact that I'm going to puke. Perhaps I can punch one of these windows, and throw up outside. Nobody will suspect a thing, except the glass.

_"Mein isn't here to make you happy now. Perhaps you are going to kill yourself." _ She changed again to sadist mode...

_"Didn't a great man say; You make your destiny?" _Shit, I know precisely where this is going. _"Wouldn't that mean that you are your own slave? A slave of fate... but you created that fate. So what does that mean?"_

I took some slow breaths, and looked forward again. I can bear with this unsettled stomach for now. I have to stop Esdese for a bit. Just have to follow this way.

_"'Thou Shalt', that's what those holy books say, but you think 'I will'. You were the one who decided who was going to live and die. You killed everyone indirectly! Aren't you proud of it?"_

I leaned against the wall as a piercing pain drilled my head. The sickness I was feeling was completely overtaken by this terrible emotion.

I wasn't thinking; Am I going to die poisoned?, or; That stupid vampiric slut!

I didn't want to give up. If it wasn't for Mein that last time, I could have very well let myself die of hypothermia. I don't know how my mind changed so quickly of mood. Just a second ago I was determined to continue fighting, but now everything is so... bleak.

_"Oh? I remember now what you said. What is fate going to take away from me? You do have that last friend. How is Pinky going to die? Will she die saving you... Or maybe suffer a fate worse than death? A permanent coma or, perhaps sold as a slave. No wait, better yet, a sex slave! Maybe she'd enjoy it and everything."_

Something in my mind is screaming. _Die, die, die. _That's what it's saying. I don't... I don't want to die. I have to keep going, I promised. I have to...

I felt my legs giving up as I started to slide down the wall. Something is ringing in my ear. Shut up, shut up...

Useless, useless! That's... that's...!

I felt somebody hugging me, but I didn't feel warm. Cold, like death...

_"We can be brother and sister again... your friends, they will be there too. You wouldn't leave us alone, would you?" _

Give up...? Give up. Don't... Don't give me that bullshit.

"Who the hell do you think you are..." I used the wall beside me to stand up. I felt weak and rather uneasy about everything. "You aren't my sister. You are just a part of me who has given up."

I looked at Seryu who didn't have any kind of emotion in her face.

"You try to tell me how much I screwed up in the past. And you know what? You are right. I would have changed everything. But give up? Give up just because I have suffered? I don't care about myself. Everyone's dying wishes are still on my shoulders. I wouldn't forgive myself if I let them down now. I already mourned your death long enough. I miss you as much as I miss Sayo and Ieyasu. And that's why!"

As if her ethereal properties just vanished, I was able to lift her up by the throat without any trouble.

" I love my past, I love my present. I am not ashamed of what I have had, and I am not sad because I no longer have it." My headache seemed to cease, but it didn't stop.

The illusion disappeared in thin air while I panted heavily, feeling acid on the back of my throat.

"Is it gone? Haha... I did it? Ha... Whoo-!" I shut my mouth as something tried to launch itself out of my esophagus.

I'm still in bad shape. I shouldn't really talk. But if I don't Dorothea will die, and the key to all those tasty teigus will be gone. And now, if that weird clapping could stop for a moment, I'll be great. Wait, clapping?

_"Did you really expect to yell 'Noooo!' and then disappear as I melted down? If crappy friendship powers really existed, I don't think all your friends would have died." _The whole self-hatred really came back with a stomp after I heard her once again.

"Shit." Although I wanted to say that, I had just say that I wasn't going to talk. Besides, my voice isn't that feminine.

My adrenaline kicked in as I recognized that voice, making me feel even worse than before.

Her red dress really covered most of the bloodstains she had, but the ripped attire showed that ugly wound I had created. Whatever Ran had done to her, it definitely wasn't healing. The only distinction I see on her is the whole, 'I'm a cute girl again'. So no more wrinkles to make fun of.

She was clinging to the wall, and didn't look like she could walk on her own. She definitely hadn't taken the whole "losing too much blood" very well, and I'm fairly sure that I could kill her right now, even in my state. Dorothea has the ticket to hell right now, and she just needs to pick the train.

Even if I manage to stop Esdese from murdering her and settles down with just torture, that alchemist is already half dead. She's not going to survive that.

"...I always heard that old ladies are very sweet and caring. Thanks for letting me see that you're an exception." My insult flew past her, as she didn't even move an inch.

"Are you done? Because you look done." She took a step back, trying to go back on her tracks.

What a bitch.

I can't really just say: Kidding, didn't really want to murder you.

I guess I know why Ran said to stop Esdese, to avoid this uncomfortable meeting.

_"Hey..." _A swift thought rambled through my head, as I felt that my dignity just disappeared from my body.

As a long-term plan was suddenly contributed by someone inside my mind, I had realized that I had changed just a bit. At the end, I can't follow morals if my enemies aren't. Sorry Mein, I am going to kill her later.

"If you ran away now, the Ice Queen is going to completely destroy you. Did I mention torture? Well, throw some salt in there too." I heard what happens with a goat and salt. Those goat demons need to check their freaking tongues.

Her expression did change this time. I believed she would think it was a joke, or laugh at me. Her failed attempt to remain calm failed, and tripped over with her dress as she tried to approach one of the windows that filled the corridor.

I didn't do anything, because I didn't understand what she was doing. Jump out of the window or what?

"H-HEY!"

I rushed over as she opened the window and climbed on top of it. I don't know if she is trying to kill herself or fly away like Pegasus, but either choice is bad for me.

I grabbed her frail body before she could do anything else. She flailed angrily as I saved her from a painless death.

"Let go of me, you fucker! I'm not getting tortured! I prefer to die right now!" Even like this, she was still stronger than me. And her desperate yelling didn't really help.

My stomach was enjoying this so much, I had to gave up in the struggle.

"At least tell me how to get rid of the poison!" I held throat with both of my hands, retaining all that fluid within inches of my epiglottis.

"The fuck are you saying?" She looked at me disgusted before trying to jump out of the window once again.

Is she screwing with me or what?

I grabbed her once again before she could do anything else. Now she was really pissed off with me. I have to tell her.

"Look, I'm actually a pervert so I'm going to make sure you don't die." My words didn't really have any truth behind them, but hey, I can at least try to not kill her.

"Shut up! I'll die like the beautiful rose I am!" She tried to punch me, but I managed to dodge it. She wasn't exactly fast before, and now she's even slower. She really was weak.

Well, for an old lady, it was pretty good.

She suddenly stopped struggling, as if she had step in the panic button. Whatever desire she had to fight evaporated like boiling water.

I didn't even need to turn around to know what was happening. Although with me being between the predator and its prey, I really don't like my position right now. Why wasn't I looking for the sadistic woman?!

"Um..." I simply backed out and let whatever had to happen, happen.

What the hell am I supposed to do? I can't control that Esdese! I mean, I would really like to have some new teigus, but it's stupid to have them if I'm dead!

But like Ran said, if there's ever the slightest chance for this to work, I will have to grasp that probability. My fears cannot get in the way of a brighter future.

Perhaps this is what I was so worried about in the Red District. I knew that I was becoming a monster, but at the very least, there was the line of morals and ethics restricting me. I already got rid of evil and good, my friends and I'm barely holding on that petty innocence I have left. And now I've decided to get rid of morals to reach my goal.

However, if I feel like something is wrong, I will definitely stop it. If I don't see it, not my problem. But if the person carrying such action is me, well, I will allow it.

_"Grab some popcorn, the Biology class is about to start. Unless you stop Esdese which is highly unlikeable."_

Oh, please. If Ran really believes I can control Esdese, there might just be a shift in this balance. Besides, I'm not really manipulating her. I'm just using her which is pretty much the same but more straight forward.

_"So does that mean getting naked?" _

Eh, no. I'll be a Grey Eminence and solve this with diplomacy. Like Sun Tzu said, the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.

_"Yeah, and didn't he also said; If fighting is sure to result in victory, then you must fight? What are you going to do when Esdese just slaps you out of the way?" _

Woah, woah. I just have to stall time until Budou arrives. I don't need to convince her.

_"You really have no idea of what to do, do you?" _

Not in the slightest. Besides, if I fail, I won't really grieve. Just a dead alchemist, and a happy me. I won't have more teigus, but my moral will skyrocket.

Whether if she lives or not, there's only one winner. There will be nobody to stop the webs that I'll weave around here. And outside too.

That's right. The rebellion that will provide my success starts from now on! The insecurities are now gone. No more planning.

To kill an Emperor, first start with its horse.

* * *

**So... almost a month, eh...**

**I. HATE. THIS. CHAPTER. Why do you think I have been so late? Everytime I read it, I had to rewrite most parts. It was so infuriating I almost thought of dropping the Hiatus bomb. Now you can criticize all you want, I'm ready. However, do not worry, I'm still on action until... November, which will be hell for me.**

**That's it. Let's continue. **

**Now things start rolling. And my own hype has almost broken one of my fingers. Seriously.**

**I'll be honest with you guys, there was supposed to be a Wave (More like Jaegers) chapter right about now. But I felt that I had delayed enough this chapter.**

**And I somehow haven't answered any reviews, and I feel ashamed to do it now. I guess I'll answer them tomorrow, but then I'll get messed up with the reviews of this one but... bah, FREE ANSWERS FOR EVERYONE..**

**Well, this ends this arc. Next one is going to be like 5 chapters long, including a Night Raid/Jaegers interlude. **_**Yes, that one fight. **_**It will be about Tatsumi earning what he deserves. Well, except that lemon part that I'm not too sure I'll actually write. Depends of whatever you guys want.**

**And... So sorry about the delay. I've literally rewritten this chapter four times. And yes, this monstrosity is the best thing I could actually get.**

**And now, I will proceed to read more Nietzsche. **

**Thank you very much for reading.**


	22. New Prey

**Ah, sorry for this small break I took. **

**I wonder how many people are still reading this?**

* * *

**White Death Arc**

_New Prey_

* * *

"Tatsumi, what are _you _doing?" Her voice was calm, yet menacing.

Wondering the exact same thing, I stood between death and the alchemist. I wasn't in a good shape, and I definitely had little idea of what I should do. But if I do this, a better future will come.

"Well, I think it's very obvious." I just need to stop her for a while. Just that.

Her eyes stared me down as I felt a cowering feeling invading my body. Not scared, I'm very tranquil. Very.

She didn't answer, not feeling the need to do so. She merely passed by my side, knowing that I wasn't really do something stupid to stop her.

I gritted my teeth and tried to turn around, only to fall backwards to the ground.

"Shit." I muttered as I understood the shivering sensation I felt. My left feet was completely surrounded by ice. And I say surrounded because I could move it just a tad.

"...!" Even without words, I could feel Dorothea's fear even from this distance.

I looked back briefly to have a reminder of what my actual objective was. Though I wasn't really sure if I had enough willpower to stand up to Esdese.

But if she was actually invincible, she'd be called a god, not a queen. Like a chess piece, she's extremely powerful but will die even from a hit of a pawn like myself.

Let's just hope that Dorothea learns to not fuck with me. Figuratively and very literally.

"I was told to watch for any competence. Certainly, I expected something else." Esdese said disappointed. Who the hell is giving her love advises?!

I was trying to stop her, right.

I used my free leg to kick the ice that was stopping me to little to no avail. This ice wasn't made from water, that's for sure.

What smells like iron?

"W-Wait, I-I..." Dorothea's voice trembled in fear as I heard Esdese unsheathing her blade.

... Am I actually feeling bad about her? Or perhaps is because the future I'm hoping of is disappearing? It doesn't matter.

I stood up and thought to leave my shoe in the ice to escape the ice trap. However, like it wasn't going to be that easy, I forcefully broke the ice with a quick swipe with my blade.

Now, I have to save D... nah, more like stop Esdese.

I tried to turn around only to find my other foot trapped in ice. Oh come on, she isn't even looking at me! Those damn ice powers are too ambiguous!

"So, what did you do?" I heard the air being sliced, but no other sound came.

I looked back for a moment, but there wasn't any gruesome scene yet. Dorothea looked like she would piss herself and I was pretty sure Esdese was going to follow the slow and painful death route.

"Hey, why don't you just... torture her a lot. Yes, only that and then eh... let her go if she still has legs." I said while breaking once again the ice on my weak legs.

She didn't answer and that filled me with fear. Did I sound too protective? I don't want to be tortured! I should have told her to cut all of her limbs! T-That's right! That's disgusting though!

"When I ask a question, I want an answer. Did you hear an answer, Tatsumi?" She suddenly brought me in, as I had broken free from her ice trap.

Oh shit, did she get pleasure from doing this? Quick, say something before she thinks you're into something kinky!

"Eh, no." I might have just sealed someone fate right now.

"Oh, see? Tatsumi is a loyal assistant right now." Assistant? What? Oh no... don't drag me into this.

Say something, say something! I'm a-okay with the torture, well I'm not, but she's going to kill her at the end! I can't just let her! Even if somehow I prevent it now, she will not stop until she's six feet under! So I have to convince her to _only_ torture her!

But what do I do? What do I say? She won't listen to me! Where's Seryu when I need her?!

Share the punishment and only end up half dead?

No, wait. What would buy time that won't kill me? I need an idea. Just one! Idea... Idea.. Ideal?

I think I got it.

Completely oblivious of the danger my head was trying to push in me, I tried to engage a conversation again. I don't have any more ideas, so unless Ran is a slowpoke...

"I changed my mind." I said as I sluggishly got between them. "I have to protect those weaker than me, or else I'd be a hypocrite." Unless I hate said weak person.

It seemed like my body locked up in that exact position, because I was somehow maintaining it despite of the terror I was feeling. I've never confronted Esdese, much less when she's entered sadist mode.

"What?" Whether she was mad or perplexed, I didn't exactly like the expression on her face.

"That's right. The strong ones must defend the weak ones so they become strong too. I remember saying those words to you." My mouth was drying up with every word. It looks like my saliva is too scared to be in it.

"Those words are coming out of nowhere. Why are you stalling time?" She didn't follow the argument as I had expected. I should have remembered that she isn't an idiot.

"Oh, I don't actually know. Because perhaps I don't give up easily, or maybe I just want things going my way for once." I should have rephrased that, because I like my heart where it is.

"Tatsumi, you should know..." I felt her killing intent suddenly flaring up. "...That just because I love you doesn't mean I'll tolerate everything you do."

I waited a strike of her rapier in any second, but all I got was the urge to pee a lot. I'm literally facing the strongest of the Empire, what do you want me to do?!

"I should have expected this." I heard her talk once again, but somehow I felt happy about it.

"I believed you'd be more compelling of following his Majesty's orders." I opened my eyes, and saw the Great General strangely passive about the situation.

I didn't exactly know what the hell Budo does around the damn palace, but what I did know was that he could fight Esdese. Of course, like the Emperor is not really in shape of being a commander, Budo commands all armies. Which means I should probably be nice to him.

"Please, I wasn't going to kill her." She replied, as if it was a given fact.

Definitely sensing some tension here, but she said she wouldn't kill her. I mean, she wouldn't lie to Budo, I guess. Just walk away, and whatever happens, it's not your concern.

Control Esdese? Nah, more like confused her enough time. He just told me that to get me motivated or something. Speaking of him, where is he?

I looked around for a moment to locate Ran, but he was nowhere to be seen. Who is the traitor now...

I started to back away slowly as they started to get into some philosophical rambling, until I bumped into someone.

Oh right.

"You better appreciate this." I told the alchemist, who couldn't really move due to the ice on her hand.

Oh, poor Dorothea is angry at me. What's with the harsh look? Now your life will be a ride. Though the ride will be on fire. And the ground too. Basically hell.

And I think I'm going to puke. Keep the scene going.

Ah, life is good. Who has won against Esdese? Well, technically Budou, but I was the one who takes the credit! Oh yeah, I beat her! She can't control this beast anymore!

I felt my neck getting pulled as I tried to get away. I did have a collar, didn't I?

"Where are you going, Tatsumi?" I felt shivers as I heard Esdese so close to me.

This is not going to end well...

* * *

Three days after the whole incident, I felt way better. Physically at least.

But do you know who isn't feeling better? Dorothea. Haha... That was horrible. And I don't mean the joke.

Apparently what Budou was telling Esdese was that the Empe... Well, that it would practically be treason. However, like he just specified death and Esdese pretty much does whatever the hell she wants, well... Let's say that I learnt a lot about biology.

In any case I _still _had to sleep with Esdese, which I was absolutely sure I would be, at the very least, spanked. But she didn't really come by until I was already asleep. Though I'm pretty sure she was doing god knows what to Doro-Doro.

And the worst thing was that she just acted like nothing happened, and that was even more unnerving. She didn't mention a thing. Seriously. Just like with Stylish...

Speaking of which, I can now confirm that Ran knows about that. And he either appreciates me enough to not say anything, or he simply doesn't care.

I guess he ran into the same problem as Dorothea. Esdese's love is like a big shield for me, and Ran is smart enough to not run against it.

And Dorothea... well, she's still here for some reason, though she's scared shitless of Esdese. I don't know half of whatever she did to her. I know one of her hands suffers of frostbite and the other... nails. Simply nails. Not the ones that we have on the fingers though because she doesn't have those anymore. But god knows what happened to her eye or why she's hobbling around.

I don't think I want to know. And what I know, I wish I could forget it.

...Did you know there are 27 bones on our hands? WELL I DO. And do you know what happens when you put a nail between the phalanxes? LOTS OF YELLS.

And that is what will happen to my lovers. Though I don't have any. I only can have Esdese, and I'm sure she won't be tortured.

...

Yes. Eh, moving on...

I was going to train a bit with Wave. You know, he's still a bit cold with me, but I'm sure he only pretends it. He forgets the whole tough guy when we talk for a bit, until he realizes. I wonder why that is?

Anyhow, I'm feeling fantastic. Life is being kind! No more surprises, no more being on edge! No ties to some psycho girl! This is how life should be, goddamn it!

_"Have we talked about, psychological problems?" _ Well, I'm still hearing Seryu. Though she hasn't tried to murder my mind since then.

"What problem?"

Really, the hell is she talking about? It's not like I had any psychological consequences by being with Dorothea.

_"Considering that at least 3 members of Night Raid are girls, I believe it's a problem."_

...Agh, it's not a problem! I don't have any problem!

_"Haha! You're scared fighting women!" _

That's not it you damn illusion! I obviously don't want to get ra-ra-raked by that woman!

_"Yeah right, perhaps if you really think about it, it might happen with Esdese. But Kurome? That girl barely has energy to eat sweets, and somehow you think she's going to tie you against a bed an-"_

Alright, we get it! Shut up!

_"My god that was pathetic! What a bodyguard you are. Seriously, if it wasn't for that unexplained love, you'd be so dead that you'd be one of Kurome's puppets. And then she can proceed with your dirty thoughts."_

Fine, great! I'm not scared of being raped! I'm just... a bit terrified of those two. Because Kurome might know something and since I saw what will happen to me if I'm a cheating bastard, I think I might be very screwed up in the end.

_"Then... wow, you are thinking those things in a battle? That might explain that wet dream you had abo-"_

What the hell are you thinking? I haven't had a wet dream in ages!

My god she's so annoying! I mean... I'm annoying? Wouldn't it be me thinking those things? Since she's in my head... Let's not think about it.

Regardless of what happened right now, I have only one thing to do left though it's more like a secondary objective. Find out if Kurome really knows or if it was all an illusion. I really hope it's the latter.

After that, I won't kill anyone close to the Jaegers ever again... The pain it has brought me may outweigh what it took for it to happen.

And then I can focus once again into killing thread guy... Although...

After what happened with Ogre and Stylish, I'm not sure... if I should... But it just makes me so mad letting him go unpunished! This circle of revenge is only bringing more pain, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop it.

_"Are you a quitter or a pisser?!"_

What?

"Ah, Tatsumi. Why the long face? Having a relapse?" I noticed Wave greeting me as we met in the hallways.

He seems pretty happy, for some reason. Usually he just gets straight to the point.

"N-No, just thinking about the future." I quickly replied, not trying to give off any odd sensation.

"I see... Well, eh, I heard about that problem you have. Maybe I can train you too. After all, I have more experience." He said, trying to find an excuse.

I guess Kurome told him. That creepy girl...

"I don't have any problems, but alright." I could use this chance to get info about her. "You could use your teigu, just once."

"And I'm going to stop you right there..."

* * *

I'll be honest. It was rather fun to train with him, even with wooden swords. I insisted to use our normal gear, but he just didn't want to until we actually broke said swords. But I must admit, it's been a while since I had an enjoyable training session. Though I thought the gap between us would be greater, it seems that we have the same mastery with the sword.

So that means Akame would still stomp him. Huh. Then again, I don't know how his teigu works.

"That was... a good warm-up." Wave said while hiding his irregular breathing.

"Screw you..." I got closer to wall and leaned against it. Still, this is much better than training with Esdese. My god, that's freaky. "Someday I'll force you to use your teigu..."

Even without looking I felt him smile.

"See that wall over there?" He pointed at one of the walls in the far end. "The day I use Grand Chariot against you, you'll end up there."

Is it that powerful? No matter. Maybe I can try it.

"And... can I use it? Or is it like a diabolic weapon that can only be used by one person?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Eh, I wouldn't push my luck. You don't choose the teigu, the teigu chooses you." That's pretty deep, or common sense.

"If I try it, could I die?" I asked. I would want to use it, but maybe I'm just being stupid.

"That's a good question. I don't think you could even activate it though." He said with an air of superiority. This is a challenge?

"Ah, it's like a monkey's paw?" I muttered. So that just means I have to kill you.

"I don't even know what's that, but what I mean is that you better don't touch it." It's not like I'm offending you.

Right around this time I'd leave, but as I don't have much to do, I better stay here and get some info. I don't want that variable against me.

Now that we're alone, I want to ask him about Kurome. What was she doing while I was dealing with Stylish? Did she really leave, or was it part of my madness?

I felt a brief change in the air and looked back.

"You can use my teigu." Kurome said as she crept her way here. I don't think she has even run a mile since I saw her.

Come on! She just appeared right when I think about her.

"See, Tatsumi? That katana? That _will_ kill you if you try to use it." Wave said, as if speaking from a very bad experience.

"You're still alive. He will only suffer some brain damage." She acknowledged as if it wasn't a good reason to not do that.

I must make sure... Did that conversation with Kurome really happen? Perhaps she's playing with me, but I don't want to act too suspicious around her.

Let's try something.

"Hey, Kurome. Don't you eh... What do you do for fun?" I sound totally suspicious, right?

She looked totally unfazed by my question, but Wave looked at me confused. What? I'm a totally sociabl- Ok, maybe not. But that's because the only people I was sociable with, died.

"You're suspicious." She got me!

"I was being a nice person. You know, partners in crime and those things." I'm just making it worse.

"I think he means that he wants to know you better." Wave said beside me, seeing my inept communicating skills with this girl.

I'm actually liking him more.

"Why?" That's actually a good question.

"Well, when I bumped into you some days ago I felt like we should at least know each other." As I said those words, I started to think that I was making my words very ambiguous.

"Oh." She was acting so passively it was unnerving. "Why don't you tell us more about you?"

There's something wrong with her attitude...

...Could this be the evidence I was waiting for? Is she teasing me or is it a real question? I can't know until I answer. Or I could puss out like a coward.

"Imagine hundreds of wasps and hornets hovering around you while you stand still trying not to die. Sums up pretty much this half year." I easily explained, as I had already planned this answer.

"What with the sudden interest?" Wave completely ignored my beautiful metaphor, and asked that simple question.

"Oh? Are you feeling lonely?" Kurome teased him back.

"What? I was just asking."

Huh.

"Even for you, that was a very obvious effort."

I'm lost, what?

Wait, wait.

Shit. No.

If I have to face Kurome, Wave will come to aid her. That means a certain death. And if they actually like each other, then I'll be very screwed. We... I know what happens when you fight for love, and though very reckless, it works.

But seeing their personalities, they won't say anything to each other. Hah, then I have to be quick. Now, how can I be alone with Kurome...

Huh, now that I look at her, I can definitely see the resemblance with Akame. Besides, the bad omen I get every time I see her is the same as that red eyed girl.

...

Will Esdese kill Kurome if I...?

Oh wow, and that's how I get Wave to join me. Holy shit, I'm a genius. But obviously, I don't want to kill her yet. If she knows nothing, I will let Akame do whatever she wants with her. Or the other way around.

Gah, what's with me today? First I get sick, then I recover, then I get horny and then I get sick again.

"-tever, just let him say the answer." I noticed how Wave addressed me, and came back from daydreaming.

What the hell did she just ask?

"Uh...Yeah, eh, why don't we talk about something... happier?" I was too embarrassed to admit that I wasn't listening.

"Wait, you mean you actually have done that?" His words didn't match his stoic expression.

Oh come on, was it a serious question?!

"Let's answer that question with another question. What did one ocean say to the other?" I spontaneously asked Wave.

"What?" He looked at me for a second before realizing the answer.

"Nothing, he just waved."I briefly laughed as I realized that it wasn't as good as I though. My god, that was so horrible I should jump out of a window.

"That was terrible." Kurome said with a straight face.

Well, shit. She didn't like it!

"Well, I mean... I know other puns like... What did one volcano say to the other?" Yes, let's get her nervous! This bad pun has a double edge!

"I don't think you should end that one." Wave interjected before I could say anything else.

Damn it, it was a covered love confession!

Out of context that seems very weird. Allow me to expl-

"What? It was very good. Oh no, did people bully you because of the name? I swear it wasn't my intention!" I might be trying to be a sneaky bastard, but I'm not trying to harm him for no reason!

"Eh, no! It just wasn't funny!" He answered with some high spirits.

"Fine, I won't do anymore." Geez, I can't be funny, I can't be serious. Everything will get me killed! "So... is it normal to sleep with your si-"

"Do they have to be about oceans?" Kurome suddenly said.

"Well, you can do puns with pretty much everything. But with Wave..." She looked a bit pensive after my answer, but then stared at Wave as if she had found El Dorado.

"Oi, Tatsumi. You might not have to fight alongside her, but I have to!" Sorry, partner.

"What? You already get distracted enough with her around." I did not meant to sound passive aggressive. But I usually have conversations with people that want to kill me.

"You two should stop arguing, because I won't be as pacific." Kurome looked at both of us rather serious.

Wait... pacific. Oh my god, she's going to start using puns?!

Even then, that was weird. I didn't know she was into...

Apparently she was mostly directing that pun towards, guess who? Wave. I'm somehow being completely ignored and I'm not really very sad about it.

"Do you sea what I did there?" She asked him once again, though apparently he had suffered a mental breakdown from the corny puns.

"Seariously, do you?" Kurome looked even more happy as she said more puns to Wave. Despite that, I'm kind of afraid that I have let her out of control.

I should use my good technique of backing off, and let the two of them alone. Because she realized that Wave doesn't exactly like jokes with his name.

Hehe... Seariously. That was good.

"Yes..." He answered, already tired from just a few bad puns.

When she seemed to have tired out Wave, she turned to me. Which I proceeded to be really scare as she smiled at me like that.

"Are you shore?" I was pretty surprised to see her answering without a pause. Had she really thought that many?

Alright, this is getting bad.

"Tatsumi, what have you done?! What have you released into the world?! We were not ready!" He grabbed my shirt and started to shake me like a maraca.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know!" I tried to apologize, but the damage was already done.

"She'll run out soon, we have to endure it." I whispered as I allied with Wave.

Oh my god, I was trying to be sociable, and this is what I get?! Perhaps this means that she doesn't know, and it indeed was a hallucination.

"Just back away slowly." He answered.

"Hey, water the two of you saying?" She was enjoying every reaction from both of us. Oh my god, she's a different kind of sadist!

We backed down as her puns started to get from terrible to horrible. No more, please. A human mind can only take so many bad puns, this is way beyond the limit.

"Kurome! You don't know the beast you're releasing!" Wave

Kurome, on the other hand, didn't have any intention to stop.

"...Shell I stop then?" Oh god, my frontal lobe!

"She saw through the bluff! Tatsumi, think of something!" Wave suddenly said, as if I was the one who was in fault. Oh shit, I am.

Eh, treason is the only way!

"Wh... Sorry, I must have been abducted or something." I didn't even think what I said.

He managed to open his eyes, which had been screwed tight. "Wait, abducted?"

"Because I got a bit carried away?!" I was sure I didn't like torture. But now I don't know anymore.

"I hate you. Hate you both."

"Whale, I guess you two have secrets. But I want to know too." She kept her barrage of puns like an expert.

Ok, she wasn't listening to my magnificent jokes. Well, there's only one option left.

"Tactical retreat!" We suddenly started running away like madmen, hoping that the pun master wouldn't get us if we were fast enough.

Shit, that girl...! At least, if I get away from her, I can ask Wave what she was doing while I was gone. I will find whatever she's hiding, even if I have to be aggressive. Without getting too hasty, of course.

"To the left!" I followed his words, and steadily followed him through the endless halls.

I didn't even know where we were going, but that didn't matter. I don't even think I've ever been to this part of the palace... Reminds me of that day I tried to escape from Seryu. Or that one time I was the one following her, that night was very awkward. And that morning too. Good days.

Good days indeed...

Now that I think of it, I've never seen hallways with so many windows. Is this part maybe even higher class than the rest of the palace, or was it designed by another architect? I mean, I don't even care, but somehow I would want an answer.

"I think we lost her." Wave said as he looked through the corner.

So we're alone now.

I have to ask him about Kurome. But, just in case this plan fails, I need to have a backup. If I have to get rid of Kurome, that means taking care of Wave too. For that to happen, I need him to slightly motivate him to... eh, being more aggresive towards me.

And like always, Esdese wi-

_"What did we say about relying on Esdese?"_

Fuck you. I do what I want.

"I didn't know she was so... extravagant." I quickly inspected the hallway we were in as I said those words.

"Neither did I. It's because you told that stupid pun." He sighed heavily before heading towards the windows of the hallway.

"Sorry. I had a friend who liked them." Not really, but goes with my plan. It's not like I'm not constantly lying to them.

"...Well, what happened to you? I mean, you weren't so friendly these first weeks." He was looking through the windows, but I couldn't help but notice some taint aura surrounding the question.

I have to get the information no matter what. I have to prompt an answer.

_"Oh, what a sick bastard you are. Poor Wave probably hasn't done anything bad to you." _Shut it, inner Seryu.

"I like her. I think she's quite charming." I lied with a straight face.

I didn't actually expect such a hectic reaction from Wave. He almost fell from the window, but managed to gather himself as he turned around shocked and confused.

"You what?" He effectively hid the frantic answer he wanted to actually said.

Huh, perhaps he wants to know why. Maybe like she's a bit weird, he thinks I wouldn't say something like this. Yeah, that must be it. The follow-through!

"What you heard. Like we are friends, I thought I could trust you this secret." I tried to feign embarrassment, but I was already ashamed of lying like that.

"We aren't friends. Besides, I thought you..."He trailed off, without finishing the sentence.

Don't tell me he thought I was gay?!

"What? I think she fits very well in the sister complex I have." Holy crap, I actually said it.

"T-The what?" He didn't seem to be believing me, or perhaps he didn't want to believe me.

"You know, your sister that comes in the morning to wake you up, and then she gets mad if you don't. And then, she'll say something like; You make me do this every morning. And then she-"

"Wait, no. I mean-"

"Ah, perhaps you want a good ol' knight's duel, where the two men fight for the heart of the lady until one of them gets bored and murders the other guy? You know, like you like her too."

"I don't like her that way. Besides, aren't two enough?" He replied, somewhat angry.

What does he mean 'two'?

Fucking alchemist. Were all those body parts worth it just to fuck with me?!

_"Wow, I guess he also knows that. Who the hell has been spreading rumors?! Perhaps we should stay away from him and Dorothea... but we also have to do persuade her..."_

That's right... In the short term it might be bad for me, but in the long run it will definitely help my cause. I just need to make sure Esdese doesn't find out this time. Because this time it will be my fault.

"Oh. That's an understandable misunderstanding. Which I'll fix up once I deal with an apparently-young eldritch freak." I moved away from his grasp, feeling a bit odd at his reaction.

"If it's a misunderstanding, explain it to me then." I turned around to face Wave again.

If he really doesn't love her, I must say he's one heck of a friend. My dearest respect from that, but you're being annoying.

But, we jumped to phase two really quickly. I'm impressed with myself! I thought I'd be a week or so trying to do this. I didn't even thought for a name for the second phase.

Let's just go with... Jealousy.

"Alright, look. I was just minding my own business when she came in and was like; Wanna do some alchemy? So I obviously answered no, and then she got all clingy like a... clamp. And then you and Ran came in and I didn't know what to do, so, so... She's a nymphomaniac or something."

Well, I was kinda forced to-

_"What do you mean, 'Kinda'? You mean you actually wanted?!"_

Oh come on, that was not what I meant!

"It's nice and all, but I didn't mean that. Why Kurome?"

Huh.

"That's...You can't explain love. But you'll know, when... you feel like you have honestly, and permanently, done the impossible. You have reached beyond your own senses and gained another. You have become god-like...and there is nothing on earth that will convince you otherwise." I used some pretty words to make it seem like I actually control what I'm saying. I clearly don't.

I awaited for a counterattack from his part, but nothing came.

"Are... Are you really in love with her?" Her words were completely normal. However... there was some hidden emotion there.

I'm such a horrible person for lying to him. Perhaps he doesn't really know how he feels. And I'm here, shooting down whatever hopes he has. Agh...

Shit. I can still back down...

_"Booh, don't be such a pussy! You already lied to him, why are you feeling insecure now?" _

...That's right. When the time comes, I'll say something like it wasn't corresponded and I'll be free of guilt.

Unless she actually knows about the whole murdering, and I need to kill her. Which then, I'm sure he'll come down like a freaking meteorite. Two for one.

"Why would I lie? I wouldn't gain anything, would I? But... I'd be happy if you kept this between us." A small voice inside of me died without making a bang.

"...Alright. But that doesn't mean I'll let you do whatever you want. I don't know what the Commander will do if she finds out, but I swear I will kill you if that happens."

Seems like he doesn't know what happen to Doro-Doro. That's her name now.

"Sure, sure. Kurome isn't at fault, is she? I'll take the punishment if it ever happens." I won't, but I don't want to disappoint him like this.

"You're saying it like Esdese is a rational person." He said, returning to his normal cold attitude with me.

"You're saying it like I can't control her." More or less.

"Tsk, let's not talk about this." He briefly looked at me, before going the opposite way I was heading.

_"Well, that wasn't awkward at all." _My hallucination remarked sarcastically.

Yes, I expected it to be much smoother. Like I had readied only one part, I totally improvised that second half. Most at least.

In any case... Now that Wave is wary of me, I can continue with the plan. Though Kurome isn't a priority. She doesn't seem to be doing much with whatever she knows, so I can leave without fear of being executed.

Which means that I have time to rank up.

Let's ask Esdese and see what are the best choices to get a promotion. I mean, I want to avoid being in the Night Raid spotlight, but killing a few soldiers of the Revolutionary army won't really matter, right? They have a guillion of those.

Yes, right now, that is the only profitable way. And like that I'll solve the whole issue with my men.

_"Hey look, I made you this new nickname. I worked really hard on this; Esdese's pet. I think it's very fitting."_

And here we go again... This is literally my life right now. I spend some good time without this bad psyche and then everything goes to a bleak spiral of doom.

I should go back with Esdese and t-

_"Yeah, go back to your master. You think she's going to pity you for much longer? We had a WHOOOLE argument about how you shouldn't rely on her and then you rely on her."_

Shit, how long will I have to bear with this? This isn't something I can just cover my ears and it'll stop. _She's in my head_. I can't do anything to block her. I don't want to take any weird medicine, because that'll affect my body badly.

But I can't bear with this for longer than five minutes. With ten I'm literally fighting hallucinations, and I don't want to know what'll happen fifteen minutes in... I will probably try to kill myself again.

_"Ah, but you haven't tried it yet. Well, if we count that one time whe-"_

I need to find someone to talk with. At least she can SHUT UP.

_"-x and then tried to put it in that part of the arm where it bends in the middle in a manner not unlike a knee were it in a leg and not an arm."_

What the hell is she saying? YOU DON'T EVEN MAKE SENSE!

It's called elbow!

Wait, where am I? Ah shit, I got lost in this damn palace again?! I just wanted to have a nice, peaceful chat with Dorothea, and then judge if I should kill her or just...

_"It was Esdese who left her without a soul, not you. She won't do anything with that woman around, but do you really think she's stupid enough to try to attack you again?" _Her voice was much more light hearted than usual.

I don't know, that's why I want to talk to her. I can't trust Doro-Doro, of course, I don't want a stab in the back, but that doesn't mean she can't help me in some ways.

But I'll leave that for the night. I need a promotion!

_"You should really rephrase that."_

* * *

Wave sighed heavily as he headed downstairs, trying to get a hold of his thoughts.

He just didn't know what that guy was doing. Despite the Commander insisting of his loyalty, he _somehow_ has Incursio. You don't have to be very smart to relate Incursio with Bulat, one of the strongest generals of the Empire, until he rebelled.

"How? Just how? Her love must be blinding her." He thought out loud.

He thought of the death of Stylish, which also happened when he wasn't around. Even if he still had an alibi, he would be the obvious culprit. And yet, Esdese stopped him from doing anything rash.

Then the son of the Minister appeared and kept whining about that lioness, and that young alchemist surely had the word "Suspicious" floating above her head.

And then _somehow_ he's in love with Kurome. He seemed very passionate about it, but he should be wary just in case.

But besides his baseless assumptions, there wasn't a solid clue about anything. It was impossible for someone to be that careful and not make a mistake. And after all, he hadn't broken the law in any way and he had been somewhat helpful. Even if he has Incursio, what are the chances he actually killed Bulat and took it as his own? Literally, he hadn't done anything wrong. He just had these creepy moments when he just stares at a wall, as if he's watching someone.

That was actually pretty odd.

Wave just needed to sit down and relax for a moment. Gather his thoughts and drink some delicious tea from Bols. Yes, that was it. The moment of pleasure he needed! No more voices in his head!

Triumphant by his decision, he jumped off the few steps that were left in the stairs and decided to end the day as graceful as ever.

Until that happened.

"Eh, you... Ocean guy." He heard the vaguely familiar voice, but he was too annoyed on that nickname some people had given him.

He could have ignored and just keep going, but that wouldn't be that nice from him, would it?

"Hah... What is it?" He turned around and saw the young lady that he had escorted a week ago or so. "Eh... Dorothea, was it?"

One of her blue eyes was covered by a white eye patch, seemingly hiding a very ugly wound. An arm sling adorned her left arm, and her right hand seemed to be covered in a reddish cloth. Though her legs were apparently fine, her robotic movements made it seem like her torso was heavily bandaged too.

He had heard that she had fought someone for Night Raid, and ended up like this. He couldn't understand how that much damage happened in such a short time or how it happened. She looked like she had been tortured for days rather than a brief fight.

"Help me go down the stairs." He didn't notice at first, but her whole playful personality was definitely gone or at least, hidden for a while.

"Ah, eh... sure."

She was walking just fine, why did she need any help? Whatever. As peculiar as she was, he couldn't ignore a poor girl that had been trampled like this.

He approached her with caution, not exactly sure where her injuries were exactly at. The small girl quickly approached him, as if attracted to him like a magnet.

"I'm not going to carry you." Wave briskly said, sensing the girl's intentions.

She didn't complain but also didn't pull apart from him.

"Two floors." The alchemist ignored him, and simply said how many floors she wanted to descend.

He wasn't exactly eager to go down some floors just to go back up again. Nonetheless, he was already doing it, so just leaving her here would be plain rude.

He gave it a second thought before putting his hand around her waist, as she apparently wobbled around every time they descend one step. Then again, this was probably why she asked for help.

"...Do you know what 'Gu' is?" Dorothea said, trying to break the silence.

"Should I?"

"No." She didn't follow up with her answer.

A few steps latter, they had already gone down one level. He should have tried to keep up with the conversation, however, she was giving her a weird vibe.

"Do you know which are the five noxious creatures?" She said, once again trying to prompt an answer.

"Eh... Snakes, scorpions... toads... centipedes, I believe... And..." He had thought of several candidates for the fifth place, like spiders, but Dorothea finished his answer.

"Lizards. Though the centipedes are the most noxious. When you put them all together in a container, they'll kill each other until only one prevails. The toxins the survivor has is called 'Gu' poison."

But spiders are way more...?

"Oh..." He didn't know how to respond.

A brief silence later, she started talking again.

"I have Gu. I used it a lot." She was strangely proud of it, which he didn't understand at all.

"Really?" He rolled his eyes, not really interested in the topic.

"Yes... Wanna see it?" Whether she was telling the truth or not, he didn't exactly like the phrasing of her words.

Tatsumi's words revolved around him for a few moments.

"Thank you, I'll pass."

They had only descended one floor, but it was a very tedious task. It was simple, yes, but that girl had a very creepy aura around her. He didn't want to infected by it.

"It looks like you're confused." She seemed to have sparkled suddenly. "You should calm down... and gather your thoughts. And then that voice will be much clearer."

"You are clairvoyant too?" Wave obviously didn't take her words seriously.

"No. But if you keep quieting down your mind, it might come back to hurt you." Whatever she was thinking, she had recovered some light.

"Really? Isn't that like a tarot reading?" He remembered those words from somewhere, perhaps when he was really young.

"I know how to read people very well. But if you want a tarot card reading, I can't shuffle cards right now. I lost mobility in my left hand." She admitted with a gloomy voice.

"Ah... Well, you made it out alive. I'm sure somebody is happy of seeing you again." He hadn't thought about it much, but it was the typical answer for everyone.

"Well, if you see that person, bring them to me."

He could obviously ask more, but it was better if he didn't enter that uncharted territory.

He carefully moved away from her as they reached the floor she wanted. This should have meant that he could return to his original plan. Which was doing anything besides being with her.

"Oh, wait a moment. I need you for some heavy lifting!" Her cheerful emotions had apparently flowed in right now, as if her dreadful personality had disappeared.

"There are servants for that, you know?" He said while holding on the stair railing.

"I need _you_ specifically. Pretty please? I'll make it up to you." She sounded very honest, if it wasn't for that last part.

Perhaps she was really alone, and didn't really know anyone else. Of course, that would be a very farfetched situation... But what if he was right? She could end up killing herself about what she's been through! If he could avoid losing a live, he would save it!

Besides, Tatsumi was surely exaggerating. She just looked like a spoiled child that wanted to play, not a pervert.

"Hah... Fine. What do you need?" He gave in, as his own assumptions took over him. After all, she wasn't going to suck him dry.

"Your saliva. And you aren't afraid of needles, I'm assuming! If everything goes well, I won't need anything else." She approached Wave again, not caring about personal space.

"...You aren't trying to clone me, right?" He was genuinely worried about that. Alchemists do those crazy things, right?

"Last time I tried to create life, I ended up with a dumb mass of goo that couldn't sustain itself. No, what I want to know is something else."

"Aha... So, you're going to use me as guinea pig? Because I'm afraid I won't allow that." He tried to gently push her aside, but she didn't let him.

"I said I just wanted your saliva. And blood. I want your blood too. A bit. Well, maybe more."

She made it sound like it was something very important. Perhaps he shouldn't make this choice only based on his judgment.

"I don't really know if I should." He admitted, while taking a step back.

"What is it? I don't bite." She said, as if saying some odd joke.

If she somehow could use both of her arms, perhaps he would have felt more threatened.

His gut was telling him that this would probably backfire at some moment, but for now he just felt pity. After all, she looked younger than him, so maybe that's why she acts like a child. Or so he thought.

"Alright. But you need to tell me why am I doing this." He probably should tell somebody about this, but for now there was no reason to deny help.

"We are going to see if everyone is drinking poison!" She said excited as she clung into Wave's arm.

That was all he needed to think that she was just searching for attention. There was no way she had some kind of masterful plan behind this. But if she acted like this around Tatsumi, why was he so frightened of her?

"Seems fun... You were doing this with Tatsumi too?" The only way to know new things is by asking.

"I didn't do anything." She gave a bland answer, dodging the question.

Her body was broken, but it seemed that her mind was also shattered. What the hell did Tatsumi do? No... why was everyone ignoring the subject? Even Ran was strangely biased when asked about the recent events. Was he being kept in the dark of something?

"Sooo..." He realized that nothing good would come out of the subject. "Why do you need me? I'm sure Syur... well, maybe not him, but Ran is... Eh, you still have your right hand."

"Eh? N-No, it has to rest." She quickly hid her hand behind her back.

Although the right hand was covered in cloth, it didn't have any bandage or anything. It looked more like she was embarrassed about it.

"Whatever you say. I'm helping you just this once, but only because there isn't anyone else."

Wave was doing it out of pure altruism, without any other motive. The same couldn't be said about Dorothea, who had been through the seven circles of hell in less than two days. But what was she really planning?

* * *

"So, this is you?"

Leone pointed at the sloppy drawing made by the half-teigu. It _looked_ like a child, but it was more like a very good puppet. She looked like a child and thought like one. Even some dogs were smarter.

The girl nodded delighted, and showed the next paper.

"Aha... that is... an eye, I guess?"

It looked like an eye, at the very least. But normally people don't have eyes in their foreheads. Unless that was Zank's t-

"So, why does that person have an eye here?" Leone didn't expect an answer. This girl couldn't even talk.

The only sound she made was whenever Lubbock was around, where she got awfully horrified of him.

"...Pu." The girl made the figure of a pistol with her hands and touched the eye as if shooting it.

"Well, that doesn't look too good..."

That meant she remembered fighting against Zank. In that case, she won't be able to stay with Night Raid. But that couldn't be that bad. After all, the only thing she remembered was that sense of justice, and now she only needed to point it at the Empire.

However, Seryu or whatever was this goo girl, was very sad that Leone didn't like her drawing. If she didn't like it, then she'd have to dispose of it!

"Ah, am I going to tell Lubbock that he's right?" Leone lamented, as she watched the girl looking at the drawing and proceeded to eat it. "H-Hey, don't eat it!"

She didn't even had to chew the paper, as it melted as it entered her body.

"Gee, I thought you didn't have to eat."

A very grotesque idea popped in Leone's mind. If that worked, then they could use her in battle.

"What else can you melt away...?"

* * *

**And thus, the "setting everything up" Arc has begun. We're heading for the end, but there's still one thing that hasn't been altered in this timeline.**

**So... Sadly, drunk me didn't write any part of this story, so it won't be funny like that Tokyo Ghoul parody.**

**However, do not feel frightened my children, for I shall update this fic in a short period of time!**

**Thank you very much for the favorites/follows/review. I should mention that someone has been very grateful, and has reviewed most of my chapters, giving a nice critique. I hope that helps in the following chapters so it's way more enjoyable for everyone.**

**Until we meet again, because now I have to update my DxD fic. Love you all!**


	23. Schadenfreude

**This is the anniversary for this story. I feel nostalgic...**

ㇸ5_**Enter the night, a flash in the darkness**_

**_White Death is heading your way..._**ㇸ5

* * *

**White Death Arc**

_Schadenfreude_

* * *

Only a day has passed and the happiness I was feeling has completely shriveled like a dying rose. I have finally set my mind to an objective and I can't feel relaxed anymore.

Good thing is, I don't have any more girl troubles. Although thinking that most girls I know have tried to kill me, it's not like the threat has disappeared. I still don't know what Kurome is thinking, and Dorothea is only knocked out of the game for a long time. I doubt she'll want to jump in again though.

Which is why I should have a civilized talk with her. More like signing that armistice and hope that it's permanent. Or it will be Versailles all over again.

However, I can't be kind or nice with her. And to do that, I have to be... Right, be an awful person. I'll just have to say the opposite of my normal ways. Because I'm not usually an awful person, right?

Of course not, I'm a very nice guy behind all this soldier thing. Who cares about what Wave thinks? Or that lioness. Or those guys that tried to kill me. Or Stylish. Or Dorothea.

Anyways, finding her isn't exactly hard. I just need to find a half mummy, and there we go. Seriously, she should remove them before they get embedded into her permanently.

She still had that weird eyepatch in her eye and her hands almost invisible behind all those layers of bandages. Not to count that she had also do the same with her body.

"Hello, Dorothy." I said as she responded with a mixed reaction. "So, eh... how does being a mummy feel like? I mean, the Alice costume fitted you nicely." I tried to push aside all the negative feelings and tried to joke around.

Just don't remember the rape. Damn it, I just did.

"W-What do you want?" She looked around petrified, looking for Esdese.

She really got scarred for life, both physically and mentally. I do not want to know what else happened between them. Though I can assume several things.

"So, like we're all nice friends, I came here to show you my good nature. And stop looking for her, she's not here and she won't come. It's fine." I tried to assure her, but it seems that she doesn't really trust me.

"...Why are you all kind and happy?" She asked, obviously suspecting something.

"Well, you know, I saved your life."

"You f... That's not true." She quickly censored herself, trying to not do anything harsh against me. Mostly because Esdese.

"Ah, then who has that privilege? What's his name... Syura? Yeah, I'm sure he helped you a lot. Who else? Ran perhaps? I don't know what kind of conversation you two had, but I'm sure that wouldn't stop Esdese. Admit it. Nobody, except myself, is going to ever offer you any real help. Besides, if you want I can call Esdese so she can tell her opinion."

"...Tha...Th... W-What, you think you can hide behind her back now?" She didn't look to be taking very well the whole torture thing. I wouldn't either.

I'm even surprised she has enough courage to fight back, but I guess she doesn't think I'm that bad. I would take that as a compliment, but not right now.

"Holy hell, you also lost half of your brain? I don't think provoking me is the right path here. Besides, I don't need Esdese to make you feel pain."

Don't get too sidetracked... You don't even know how to torture her.

"So, yes. I wanted to speak with you. I mean... You did some bad things to me, and I did some bad things to you." I took a long sigh before continuing. I can't believe I'm doing this.

"No, no! What are you trying?" She said, taking a wary step back.

"I want you to help me. No, let me rephrase that. You _will_ help me." I advanced quietly, to make sure she wouldn't try to escape. There's no way she can fight back anyways.

"You... I'm not doing anything for you." She said, unsure if that answer was the one she meant.

"Yeah, there's not really a choice. Besides, I think this is the only reasonable answer if you want to live more than a week." I said, looking straight at her only visible eye.

"So... Well, seeing you in this state is pitiful even for me. I'll show you what happens if you get on my good side, eh? How does that sound?" She suddenly turned around and started to run away.

Well, this is unexpected. Maybe I should give up.

"There's no way you'll be able to remove the strings on your eye by yourself, you know? You not only can't use your hands, but you must know how incredibly painful it must be to even blow some air on it."

I tried my best to make her forfeit and succumb to my help, but she didn't slow down. This fucking bitch...

C-Calm down... Let's not kill her yet.

I started to follow her, only to make sure she could hear me clear and loudly. Of course, I don't want anyone else to hear this conversation.

"If your eye infects, you're doomed. It must be one of the most painful experiences of the world, you know! You should really think it before turning down my offer. What is it? Is your own pride so big that you refuse for any help?"

Her feet seemed to stagger but managed to stop before falling flat on her face.

"You must be much older than me, but your mind is still of a damn brat that doesn't know when to stop. Did you seriously think that you could control _me_, after what you did to Mein? I could understand it back at Stylish, but even after being in the damn palace you didn't even slow down. No wonder Syura didn't help your fakeness, even he was smart to realize you brought this upon yourself."

She seemed to slow down, and looked back at me with a weird expression.

Huh... She looks like she's going to break down. What the hell did Esdese do to her, I wasn't even trying that much!

"So tell me." I said as I finally grabbed her shoulder, preventing her from moving.

She's so thin, like a young lady... or an old grandma. I'm not going to deny it, she is beautiful. But sadly, she just pisses me off. I have never cared so less about a human being my whole life. Hell, she shouldn't even be judged on earth!

_"Hey, you know what you should do? Make her taste her own medicine! She's broken like you were... Like all the times you were together. Every action has a reaction so... You should do it to her too."_

That sounds... Wait no!

AH! Shame, shame, shame! Why did I think of doing that to her?! I'm not going down to her level!

I felt a thorn in my heart as I released her, coupled with a feeling of repugnance. Even if I try to be as selfless as I can... I still cannot bring my mind to certain topics. Perhaps this is my last bit of humanity trying to keep me on the ground.

"I'll give you some time to think. I understand it might be painful... but you really have no other choice. I give you a week. Hopefully you won't die." I regretted saying these words, but part of me told me this was the best.

She looked at me with some teary eyes before resuming her creepy walk to get away from me.

_"And I thought you had changed. I mean, even if Esdese hasn't clipped her or something, I doubt she could feel good."_

Even if I did, I'm sure I'd regret it later. As much of a rose she thinks she is...

_"Roses are beautiful because you pluck them before they wither. You should think about before giving a straight answer."_

Shut up.

_"Evading the answer? That already shows me what you really want. After all you're no different from her, you damn hypocrite."_

Fine, I just thought about it! It doesn't mean I'd do it! Everyone has sporadic thoughts!

_"Heh, what better way to resist Esdese! I mean, as long as she doesn't know..."_

Stop with that! I have enough self-control!

* * *

I gave myself some refreshing slaps before entering my room. I mean, Esdese's room. I'm pretty sure she's here, or at least she should be.

"Oh? Back already?" She said with a beautiful smile.

She was sitting legs crossed, probably expecting me judging by her expression. She had a small notebook, like a diary... no, more like a list. She had been with that since she tortured the alchemist. I don't know what she does with it, but I'm getting an eerie feeling...

"When you say it with such a vain smile, I'm pretty sure I'll end up tied in a bed." I replied as I watched Esdese play with a pencil.

She's writing something, and the fact that she only writes while looking at me doesn't bring me much hope.

"I'm only trying to train you, but you seem to get in trouble every time I try. Besides, if you're scared of fighting wom-"

"I'm not scared of fighting women, why does everybody say that?!" I swear, if it was that damn alchemist again, I'm killing her. Screw long term plans and shit, I'll gouge her good eye out!

Huh, I'm usually far more composed.

She looked at me again before acquiring a serious expression.

"Your eyes are getting dark today. Have you heard that voice again or have you surrounded to your senses?" She mentioned, as she scanned my reaction.

I don't see why I shouldn't tell her.

"...It whispers into my ears. But only some phrases!" Seriously, I'm not crazy! Though this is what crazy people say.

"Oh..." She slurred that word as she wrote something in some kind of notebook. "And what did it say?"

"Well, I... I shouldn't.." Come on, I should be strong in front of her. "I had a weird thought and sh- it just pressed over and over again. Giving me some good reasons to do it. Wait, not good." I tried to sound as normal as I could, but I couldn't control myself completely yet.

"Aha... And what else?" She completely evaded any kind of conversation or compassion without a second thought. Maybe she realized that I don't want to talk about it.

"Well, very bizarre stuff. It's like she says the most messed up things that can happen so I actually do them." I explained carelessly. I was trying to focusing on another thing, and those scribbles she's writing is the best thing I could find.

Is that a damn stick figure, or is it the angle?

"And when does it appear?" She asked, not looking at me.

" When? Well... I guess... when I'm nervous? More like when I know something bad is going to happen. Or... I don't actually know. Maybe it's sporadic or- Are you even listening to me?"

She looks way too absentminded today. That's weird, because I've always seen her with a much more serious glance. I'm not sure how I should feel about it.

She flipped some pages of her notebook before reading some lines. Is she seriously hearing me or...?

"Why, of course. Like you don't know what causes it, perhaps I'll have to send you in a mission... So, leave. Come on." I must have had a very stupid face right about now.

What the hell is wrong with her?

She casually dropped the notebook and pencil to the bed and approached almost immediately.

"What?" Are we sure this is the same Esdese that sleeps with me? "Ehm... well, shouldn't you at least tell me what I'm supposed to do?"

"Somebody should fill you in as soon as you leave that door." She suddenly started to push me away. This is actually really depressing.

"What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

"No. Just return in three days." Three days? But what...?

"Alright, alright, I'll leave." I'm honestly confused.

She closed the door right in front of my face as I stood there perplexed.

What the fuck just happened? She's normally more cheerful with me!

* * *

**Two days later...**

"Alright I fu...I have grudgingly escorted three damn danger beast eggs, and their damn parents were very displeased about it. Do you know how many parents those damn roaches have?! What the hell was that about?!" I stormed the bedroom with some astonishing confidence. "Well, I mean, the soldiers did protect the caravan while I kill those giant roaches, but why... Why are you wearing glasses?"

She adjusted the weird glasses before writing once again in that damned notebook. She then removed them as she looked at me with those blue eyes.

"No matter. So, only some mindless beasts? That wasn't what I was hoping for. So, how was your mind?" Why do I feel embarrassed now?

"Well, pretty well. It only appeared twice." She muttered some words before approaching me again.

Is she going to push me out of the room again?

"Alright, good job. You came back in less than three days which means you are better than what you let on. Did you maintain a forced march?" She actually seemed strangely eager to know.

"Eh, no. I took another route. It's not that impressive."

She didn't look even a tad disappointed by my answer, however, she had something to write in that notebook once again.

"Uh... Esdese, I wanted to ask you for another mission. I'd appreciate it a lot, but if you have other plans I'll just sit back."

I really want a promotion. And doing missions for her count. Technically, I'm not asking for help...

"There's something bothering me today. I want you close to me in case somebody attacks." I couldn't put my finger on what she really meant, but I wouldn't say she was lying.

"I doubt I'll make much of a difference. I mean, I can make Wave look good." I admitted. Even after this time, I'm not able to really rival Wave, much less Akame or any other Night Raider.

No offense, Wave! I still haven't seen you with your teigu!

"What are you talking about? You still have that sword." I could see that she was teasing me for an answer. I've almost forgotten that she knew...

Should I play dumb? Or will that make a fool of myself?

"Y-Yes, of course! Totally mine. It pops dragons out of the ground." I subtly tried to jam in an indirect, which may or may have not worked.

I still don't know how the hell magical dragon works.

"Be more direct." Gah! "If you really want to know how to use it, you should just ask me. In any case, I was going to force you."

I don't want to know what she had in store for me. Oh, why do I even bother? She's going to do it anyways!

"R-Really, huh..."

_"Yeah, she's going to force her way into your pants!" _

"Oh. I'm hearing it."

She suddenly stiffened and approached me. Maybe she was genuinely curious, or concerned. Even if I'm getting better at deciphering her, she's too explosive sometimes.

"Any visual hallucination?"

"Eh, no. That doesn't happen usually... only in weird cases." I quickly answered.

She suddenly lifted my chin and looked straight into my eyes, as if looking inside them... somehow.

Okay... this is embarrassing.

"Keep pressing it."

"W-What?"

"The voice. Try to keep it."

It's really awkward if you're so close to me. Besides, you're making me nervous. I'm feeling kinda weird too. And by weird I mean that you're all over me, and that's not making my situation any better.

_"Hey, no. Stop it. Get away from my love!" _

What the hel-

"I'm going to freeze you. Leave your mouth open."

I didn't exactly find that very reassuring, so my nervous system was smart enough to make me move away before she activated her weird powers.

"HEY! WHAT THE HELL?!" I stood there dumbfounded as she tried to make an ice sculpture out of me.

"You're not going to die, just stay in place." She said it too casually for me to believe it.

"At least tell me what are you doing! Why does freezing me solve the problem?!"

"It's not going to fix the problem. I'm sure you won't be able to keep your eyes in place." I could feel the temperature drop as she said that.

"How is that going to help?!"

I'm pretty sure that's going to kill me! If she's trying to look inside my eyes, I'm not letting her! Because I know what she did to Dorothea and I don't want my eyelids sew together!

"Do you still not trust me?" She said with a somber expression.

Agh, come on... I'm... Don't kill me.

"Don't say that... you can just make me do it! After all I'm your bodyguard, right? If you say the magic words, I'll make sure to do whatever it takes!"

She looked very pleased with my answer, as if she wanted some praise too. She's not that different from any other girl... besides the fact she's too powerful.

Now I understand... Esdese might be a wonderful killing machine, but around me she's a very emotion driven woman. If I just say the correct words, I might be able to make her do whatever I want! That must be what Ran meant by controlling her, right?!

Right?

...Why do I feel like I doomed myself?

* * *

You know, when I asked about doing whatever she wanted me to do, I thought it be like... tie yourself to this chair, or to this bed. Or put this thing in that part of your body... or...

Well, she was actually nice and gave me mission. I thought it'd be a good one this time!

But nooo... Of course, I had to be a damn escort _again_. A whole damn caravan of wonders, that it's only carrying spices.

_Spices. _What the hell? I could understand the stupid eggs, but spices? Really? I'm supposed to be a soldier. Why am I supposed to protect this corrupted merchant that it's going to act like a baller, while I have to take care of my own soldiers and not sleeping because "Boohoo, there are bandits, I'm so scareeed".

Well, fuck you. I swear to god, that if nobody attacks us, I'm going to kill him. Yeah, not even gonna bother with the consequences. I want my promotion!

So now I'm waiting here in the streets, hoping for a warm trip. There aren't any clouds after all!

"Egu, I know you're still recovering but you're the second in command, so I hope everything's alright until we come back." I adjusted my white jacket as I looked back at the selfish man that I had to protect.

"Yes sir." Even with his injuries, he was the only one I could trust with such a task.

I do not know why this convoy is so damn important, but if he hasn't asked mercenaries for help... It must mean it's something important. I can't drop my guard for a whole week. Sadly, I'm already used to it.

That's right, I should probably tell him about that.

"Don't worry about, eh, Alice. She already received what she deserved... a fraction at least." I said as I remembered some odd moments.

"Ah... Then was she the one?" He asked me.

The hell is he talking about? Oh, right. I told them that she was behind the uprising.

"Well, it looks like it. I won't know until she has a trial." I quickly made something up and gave a thumbs up. "Ah... and if somebody asks, nothing happened between us, okay? Okay. We'll be back in a week."

He nodded and I turned away before he could properly say anything else.

Alright, I just have to protect the merchant so the actual convoy is just his cargo. If it explodes or something along the way it's not my fault.

I just have to drive the whole thing, and I can take a pleasant nap while I do it.

I only need to keep focused for three days. It's not that hard. I'm going to be very bored, but I expect a reward by the end of this! At least something that doesn't involve me being an anarchist or something.

Besides, I'm bringing twenty soldiers with me. Just because I was told, because I have no idea of how many I would need. They don't seem to dislike me too much, after all, they're from my original platoon. The same one from when I was a Lieutenant. I trained them personally for over three months, and they are still doing it.

I wouldn't mind if they became my very own guards... My own retinue.

But now, I can fantasize of the future however long I want.

_"Yep. We have all the alone time you want." _

Shit.

Let's see, I can endure about 15 minutes... and a day has... twenty four hours, and an hour has sixty minutes. And I have to be a some days roaming around.

So what are the chances I'll end up murdering everyone?

I looked at Seryu, expecting some kind of answer. That's weird. Normally she speaks too much. And I'm actually seeing her. Why is she looking at me like that?!

_"What?" _ And she just said that like nothing.

This is freaking me out. She's way too mellow. And that's somehow way more unpleasant than what it sounds.

I guess better for me...? Yes, now I'll be able to ignore her.

_"Do you remember what we talked about?" _ She suddenly exclaimed.

Ha! As if I'm dumb enough to answer! But she reads my mind, so technically she's hearing this too. Maybe if I stare off in the distance long enough, she'll disappear.

_"Alright then."_ I ignored her again, as she didn't seem as annoying as usual.

This is going to be a looong trip.

* * *

**Two hours later...**

_"And then, BOOOOOM! I told him to get on his knees, and he said something like; Dumb bitch, you're gonna die! So I was like; Koro, have a snack. And then he was like; AAARGHH!"_

Oh my fucking god. It's not even the evening, and she's been going like that for a whole hour already. How can my mind create so many situations involving her?!

_"And then I started laughing because he was an idiot. Why would you say that after failing horribly? It wasn't even a fair fight! For him. Was it a he? Well, don't care. I can't distinguish between male and female these days. There are traps everywhere!" _

I'm going to start crying. Please, just stop.

_"You did every now and then."_

Holy... She stopped. Only to insult me.

"That's because I'm a very happy nowadays." I muttered.

_"Ph...Is that a real answer?"_

* * *

**Ten hours later...**

The sun is already setting, changing its color to a dim orange, slowly becoming darker and darker. It felt nice, but I couldn't drop my guard. I have to be looking everywhere.

_"You should have more confidence in your men." _

Shut up.

I want to be promoted, so this has to be perfect. And the only way this will be perfect is if I do t.

_"Yeah, 'cause we know that has worked in the past."_

Agh, what a nuisance! Don't remind me of my past like it's a bad thing, I'm not going back there. Besides, I'm letting them do things. I'm just sitting in the front now, right? They can take care of the rear just fine.

I looked at her literally teleport to my side, ready to blow my mind once again with those stories _I _have made up. Not a separate entity, not at all.

That's right, shouldn't I have total control over her? Like if I think she should do a backflip or something, she should do it.

_"No."_

Well, I tried. What if I ask her to do it? No, I shouldn't interact that much with her. Though I wouldn't mind if she disappeared willingly once in a while...

Maybe I can think of her with no clothes. Wait, she hears my thoughts!

_"So, if things start to get hot'n'heavy between us, would it be selfcest or incest?"_

Oh god, here she goes... I mean, here I go! Not literally of course!

_"...I like you more when you use your voice. Your thoughts are dirty."_

Oh, great, now she's forcing me to say things I don't want to say. Like she can't hear it.

* * *

**Another three hours later...**

I can't sleep. If I do, everyone will die. I have made them stop for the night...

Can't sleep... We're surrounded by trees, and though we're on a clearing... we could be attacked from all sides except our left flank...

Keep those eyes open! Don't sleep!

Just a bit though... I have soldiers on guard...

Think about the promotion! Think...

Sleep...

...I feel something coming.

I moved my hand completely aware of what I was doing. I felt something burn my skin for a second, before my hand started to sting. Why don't I use gloves again? I'm pretty sure I have them.

I opened one of my eyes and saw a feathery object in my hand.

Oh, an arrow.

Strange, since when do they fly on thei- "Ambush?!"

I sputtered those words as a low rumbling sound approached the convoy. I couldn't decipher how many people were attacking us, but it's not like it will be troublesome.

I grabbed my swor- My sword?

Where is it? It's not in my belt?! Why is the sheath on its own? Did somebody steal it?! But it's impossible! I've been on my own this whole time! I would have noticed something!

I focused on my attackers as soon as I realized that they were upon me.

The ground was covered in dry leaves, making every step very noticeable. My own soldiers had been alerted by my shout and seemed to realize the same thing as they also charged at the upcoming bandits.

...Then what is this low rumble I'm hearing? It seems like that one time. Could it be the dragon that lives inside the sword? Then that would mean the sword isn't that far!

One of these half-naked bandits tried to cut my head in half, but I gladly welcomed him with a punch to his head, completely shattering his neck with the impact.

Huh, that was easy. Now my hand hurts though... It's not like I use my knuckles a lot.

Seems like the bandits are charging in recklessly. If they had held back and only used bows and arrows, I might consider this a threat.

"Don't let them near!" I yelled an unnecessary order, trying to make me feel important.

I focused on the low howl that filled my ears, crying for my help.

You're around here buddy?

You must be close!

You want to be at my side, that's what you want!

I looked at another assaulter who charged at me before being impaled by my left hand. This looks like his heart... Gross.

"You're like jelly."

I pushed him off my hand as I shook off the blood in my hand. At least my jacket is intact.

My feet moved hastily through the convoy as I heard the howl closer and closer. Right now, it looked like it was inside one of the carriages... Why would it be here? Did somebody stole it? Or did it move in its own?

Before checking, I looked back as I saw my soldiers firmly taking care of the bandits. They're retreating already...? No, I've read this tactic in one of Esdese's books.

"Don't pursue them!" I forgot how this sergeant was called... eh... "Lura, grab five soldiers and cover the rear. The rest of you don't leave the perimeter!"

I watched them nodded hesitantly, as I looked inside the carriage.

"My love..." I looked at the teigu besides some of the sacks of spices. I'm not even sure how you got here, but you're back with me.

Why is there a rat here...?

I grabbed my teigu and left the nice rat alone. Eat all those spices! Leave this merchant penniless!

I turned around and readied to face the bandits. I'm not letting my soldiers die! Not like they will, because this stupid bandits aren't going to even make a scratch.

...

My back shivered as I felt a faint wind in my back.

My neck made an awful sound as I noticed somebody running away from me, probably trying to escape his imminent demise. As if you're going to leave this place alive.

He was quite fast, but nothing compared to me now. Some of my soldiers noticed it, but they were too focused fending off the thieves. Don't mind it, focus on your own!

I dashed forwards and swung my sword to deliver a swift and messy death. This white jacket is going to stay like that forever, so if I make a bloody mess and I avoid any stains, that will mean I'm amazing.

Yes, I'm bored with these weak guys, alright? I have to do something fun in the mean time.

I was about to cut him up, but a sword got in my way.

Our swords locked for a moment, as I noticed something very unusual. This unknown assailant has an uniform from the Revolution?

I didn't pay much attention as I overpowered him and pierced his heart without too much trouble. This guy... Most of the them were in the army too, before defecting. You're fighting for a fine purpose... So it means you're ready to die.

I focused again in the running man who had apparently sneaked in.

Wait, what's the Revolution doing here?!

I have to capture one of them alive! Those are going to be the big bucks!

I decided to get serious and instantly reached the running spy of the Revolution.

I swiftly grabbed his foot and made him trip unusually fast. This guy was pretty good, if we take into account the average soldier. Maybe it will be harder to get information from him, but oh well.

He quickly tried to kick me, but he was outmatched against me. That kick was too slow, and he was in the ground. I wonder, how will I bring him back without making a fuss?

I'll just knock him out.

He rolled over and tried to escape. This is annoying.

I hit him once or twice before pressing the teigu against his neck. He's very slender... and has boo- Oh, it's a girl. Well, I don't discriminate.

"So, girly. What are you doing in this neck of the woods?"

I couldn't really see her face, but somehow I just knew. I could hear Seryu laughing on the back of my head, rejoicing of how fate had came once again to destroy me.

I blinked several times, thinking my vision was clearly failing. Maybe the hallucinations where going too far.

That _is _the only answer. I mean, this person is pretty real, after all I'm feeling her. It's not like Hallu-Seryu. So...

What...

"S-Say-OW!"

And then suddenly, I felt a very strong impact right around my crotch. I mean, I felt her kicking me right there, but it didn't immediately felt bad, like stubbing your toe. How wrong was I.

I released her as I felt how pain had liquefied into a red flaming magma of death, as it spread through my bowels and kidneys. And believe me, that magma would not cool down. It stayed there as I stayed there in a very pathetic position.

My brain had assumed I was going to die, so it released more adrenaline into my body that only made it worse. I could see death right in front of me, but it wouldn't come.

That pain... that insufferable pain wouldn't cease. The damn magma wouldn't cool down.

What the hell... Did I just see...? Why did she kick me? Maybe she didn't recognize? No, it must have been an illusion. I'm too focused in the pain to care...

That wasn't Sayo. Of course it wasn't.

She wouldn't kick me in the nuts... I'm dying...

I'm sure the Jaegers are having a much better time...

* * *

"Commander."

Ran entered the living room with his usual manners, as he correctly guessed where Esdese was at.

"There's been word that Night Raid's Akame and Mine were spotted near the eastern side of Romary street."

If Night Raid had been spotted, it was because they wanted so. This wasn't only bait, it had an arranged plan behind it. But whether if it was a trap or not didn't matter. The Jaegers needed to succeed, to show the populace that they were not only able to stop Night Raid, but to eliminate them too.

Besides, they didn't have a very good record with them, as Stylish had been assassinated mere weeks after assembling the Jaegers. It was clear that Esdese needed to succeed.

"Gather all the Jaegers." She adjusted her hat and prepared to fight. "We leave in ten minutes."

"As you wish."

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait. I have seriously started next chapter and two chapters for the next arc. Like, what the hell brain? This is not how it works!**

**Making Tatsumi doing bad things is kinda weird and strange, but totally believable now.**

**And you might say, what the hell? Where's the hype train? So I'll answer this. :)**

**Next chapter though... I should call it "The tragedy expands" but like the tragedy is always expanding, it doesn't make sense. I'll say that there's no Tatsumi at all, until the very end. Instead we get Wave. Who will try to do something, unlike his anime/manga counterpart.**

**And I think I answered twice to the same review, and I'm very embarrasased.**

**Anyways... next chapter will be called: **_The invincible Teigu?! _**Yes. I'm an ass. I SWEAR IT WILL BE THIS NEXT WEEK. I SWEAR BY HARUHI.**

**Thank you very much for reviewing, following and favoriting! It's been a year already... Time flies... I usually don't like Spanish Literature, but I'll admit that without I wouldn't have reached this far. And of course, without all your support I wouldn't have passed through some hard times. SO for everything and beyond, THANK YOUUUU!**

**And like it's too soon for an special, I'll tell you why I started this story. Because LA GLORIOSAAAAAA! 1868 BEST YEAR OF MY LIFE. REMOVE BOURBON, REMOVE REPUBLICANS! And then they made the republic anyways... **


	24. Regain Our Pride The Organic Teigus!

**Don't write the dialogue ever again without descriptions... Don't write the dialogue ever again**** without descriptions****... ****Don't write the dialogue ever again**** without descriptions****...**

**Why did my past self think that 3rd person was the way to go on this chapter...**

**Sorry for the long wait. I wish I could give a better excuse than slacking off. However, I've gained back my normal schedule and I'm back!**

**Anyways, this is only half a chapter (Sowwy...) So when you see certain events, instead of thinking "Wtf?" only think "Fucking HaruhismFollower, three months for half a chapter and you're not even telling me why the hell half of these thigns are happening?!" **

**Props to you if you ever comment that.**

**By the way, in this chapter: **_"Thinking" _**Not some kind of pseudo personality.**

* * *

**Jaegers Interlude**

_**Regain Our Pride; The Organic Teigus!**_

* * *

The Empire is starting to look more like a bunch of cities kept together by a false sense of unity, rather than the magnum opus of Humanity.

The Jaegers, the Empire's weapon against the Revolution, is failing. Most of their missions end up in failure, always arriving too late to catch up with the assassins. They simply cannot know when and where will Night Raid strike.

The government had thought that the best way to counter assassins, was to use warriors against them. And they would have been right, if they fought in an open environment.

Perhaps that was the reason they also brought Kurome and Stylish. One was also an assassin, and over all, she knew Akame. And the scientist would have proven a great support outside the battlefield.

However, the failures still happened.

Stylish acted on his own, and ended up dead. If it wasn't for Syura, they might have never known what happened to him.

Night Raid hasn't stopped killing key-politicians and militaries, and the Jaegers have been unable to stop them.

In any case, the Jaegers need success soon. And that'd only mean killing at least one assassin.

"Things aren't looking good..." Wave muttered with a deep sigh.

He was walking around the palace, with nothing else to do. Some days ago they had a mission which they completely failed, as the person they were supposed to escort was already dead. But since then there hadn't been any new situation where they were needed.

That meant that Night Raid had decided to keep a low profile, which could only signify that a great attack was about to happen. And they were supposed to stop them... somehow.

For a group that was supposed to deal with Night Raid... they sure had done more cleaning up than anything. And they had lost a member even before facing them directly. Maybe that's why they were getting the name of incompetent. But they weren't the only incompetent thing around.

Even if he wanted to think otherwise, he knew that the Prime Minister had started rumors of having a more reliable group to deal with them. If there was something wrong in the Empire, the Emperor's regent was the main problem.

But of course, he couldn't say that out loud. The Emperor was being used, so after dealing with that problem everything should be normal. The problem was to reach that point.

After those thoughts, Wave was determined to be useful for once. He quickly made up his mind and decided to keep his training going, even if it seemed that he had reached a limit.

Just when he was about to turn the corner, he quickly backed away as he heard some people talking.

_"That creepy girl again... And Ran? That's an odd combination. Well, as long as he's there, I won't have to deal with what's her name."_

Their conversation didn't seem very enthusiastic, like it was more out of commitment rather than need.

"Hey Ran! Is something wrong with... Eh... "He paused for a brief second, realizing that he had forgotten that name once again. "...Dorothea?"

Ran greeted him with a smile and Dorothea just looked around uncomfortable, for some reason.

"Nothing at all. Now that you're here, I should tell you that we'll be leaving in a few minutes." Ran said as he slowly backed away.

"Leaving? A mission...?"

"Night Raid. They've been spotted in two places. I'll explain it once we're all reunited."

A sudden burst of fear and duty rushed through Wave, who had been waiting for that moment for quite some time.

"Alright, I'll go with you." Wave insisted, seeing that this was a true problem. They did not only have to act, they had to achieve a victory.

"Not yet. This lady has to talk with you about that first. And Wave... don't doze off." Ran threw a quick glare at Dorothea and proceed to brisk walk his way out.

_"Well, he couldn't have been any more direct." _Wave thought, before realizing he had been left alone with Dorothea again.

The girl looked how Ran walked away and dropped her serious act.

"Wavy, how was _your _day?!" She turned around and approached him like a magnet.

_"Oh goddamn it. Why does she have to small talk with me? Just tell me whatever...!"_ Wave hissed to himself.

"Don't call me that. What are you supposed to tell me?" He turned around to see the broken alchemist who seemed strangely happy today.

"Whatever you want." She answered with a V sign.

"...Alright. Tell me what you're supposed to tell me."

"I look like a pretty mummy!"

"You're not that old." Right when Wave answered, the alchemist cut him off from saying anything else.

"I know right?!" It was as if she wanted to hear that.

"Ah, you were saying it because of the bandages? Wait, that can't be what you're supposed to tell me!"

"Right. I was supposed to tell you an antonym of ugly." She once again looked at him with a childish expression.

"Beautiful?"

"Really~?!" She blushed heavily as she rejoiced on the indirect flattery.

"Okay, stop that." He said, getting some distance between them.

"Stop what?"

"The, well the... Stop making things so awkward." He struggled a bit to get the right words out, but he felt quite relieved when he finally said them.

"What are you talking about? In this time of the year, we have to be happy!" Although Dorothea was fooling around with Wave, she had some kind of path she wanted to follow with him.

"What? It's July. Do you celebrate the Blood Moo- Wait, don't distract me!" He blamed himself, seeing that he was thinking about other stuff.

"Maybe you want to be the sacrifice?" She thought out loud.

"Eh?"

"What?"

"Ok, stop it!" Wave snapped again, seeing that he was getting nowhere with that girl.

He usually didn't explode so quickly, but there was something on the girl that shortened his fuse.

Dorothea, however, was as serene as a leaf on the water. As long as he didn't run away, she was completely fine with him.

"Why are you so mean to me? I haven't done anything to you..." She pouted like a child, taking a step closer to him.

_"She's making me feel bad, I'm sure of it!"_ Wave deduced, even after her actions worked on him.

"You are... very creepy. I mean, it's not like it's a bad thing. That's enough! Tell me whatever Ran said!"

He didn't want to exactly hurt her, because maybe she didn't do it on purpose, as unlikely as that might be. It's not like she had killed anyone anyways.

"How so?"

"You're just messing with me, aren't you?"

"I don't have hands, I can't really do anything to you. Unless you want." She joked around again.

"Eh?"

"What?"

"Stop that! Tell me!" He yelled, annoyed by the alchemist.

"I want to have a bit of fun! My body still hurts a lot, you know...?" Like a hunter, she laid down the trap and hoped that the prey wouldn't notice it.

"Fine. Just tell me."

"Remember when you didn't find anything gooey in Stylish's place?"

"We did though... there were pools of that thing. And it smelled horrible." He remembered the hall full of blood and gunpowder, and the strange pool that was at the end of it.

"Not that. The one that doesn't smell. And moves. Night Raid might or might not have an organic teigu."

"...You're kidding, right?"

"And since we remodeled it, it doesn't have a core! Which means unless you're Esdese, you're all going to be digested."

"Aha. And how did you get that teigu?" Wave said, not believing her entirely.

"Some girl that was half dead had it. It was a cute dog before. The teigu too. I don't even know how Stylish managed to get it without the Empire knowing it. Then again, it was broken in two so..."

There was something about the passiveness of her voice that made him snap.

"...Why the hell, were you and Stylish with a _fucking _organic teigu?! I didn't even know the Empire had one since the last one... Suddenly disappeared when Stylish came... AHHHHH!"

_"Just how many things can go wrong in a matter of days?!"_ He thought as he hastily walked out of the hallways.

"Hey, he had it planned out. I just came to help. Pull yourself together, okay?" Dorothea reassured him, in a strange change of heart.

He stopped and faced the girl again.

"Then you know a weakness or something, right? Please tell me we can deactivate it?" Wave wasn't worried about Night Raid having the weapon, he was worried about his friends fighting the teigu.

"If she has eaten Stylish, then I guess she doesn't remember anything. Or maybe she didn't care. Maybe you can just convince her to not do anything."

"Seriously?" Once again, he couldn't tell if she was joking.

"Pff, yeah. If that girl really bought Stylish's words, then she should be easily manipulated. Just throw her a paradox or something and she'll stand there like an idiot."

"Wait, she? This is a teigu we're talking about, right?" He asked.

"Y-Yes. It was just a weird idea of Stylish. I mean, she was _technically_ dead." She avoided the question, knowing that the details would distance Wave from her.

"What? That's..." Dorothea cut him off from saying anything else.

"Come on, it's not like we didn't ask her permission. She's only smaller and more instable than before. Then again, we never really had enough time to forc... to make her use the big form the original teigu had." Only two people knew what happened. One was the dead doctor, and the other one was herself. It's not like anybody else would call her out.

"Fine. I don't have time to ask much more, so how do we kill it?"

"She shouldn't maintain a human form for longer than two seconds. So the problem is when you're covered in her goo. You _shouldn't _be in danger."

"Grand Chariot would protect me, yes, but the others? What would happen to them?" He asked, genuinely concerned.

"I would just kill them out of mercy." She said flat out.

"Shit... what the hell? Was the original teigu a ball of acid too or what?" It was more of an outloud thought, but Dorothea answered anyways.

"No. But that's the only way for her to maintain that form. But like I'm a nice girl, if you bring me over, I'll use alchemy to end her in one swoop." Wave knew she was up to something, but he couldn't be picky right now.

"Alright, I'll tell Esdese an-"

"O-On a second thought, I'm not in a good shape. Night Raid has already taken a liking to me, and I don't want die..." She lost a bit of color at the mention of Esdese.

"Fine, I'm not going to force you...You look a bit pale. The stress must be getting to you, why don't you take some vacations?" He said as he turned around, knowing that he should meet with the other Jaegers sooner rather than later.

"H-Huh? Don't sound so disappointed, aren't we super friends?" She put up a front, as she touched her face in search of an imperfection besides her eye.

"No?"

"You won't say that after you return." Her expression showed concern, but her voice said otherwise.

"...Is that a threat?" He didn't even look back as he turned the corner with a relieved smile.

"N-No! I was saying that I wanted to be ultra friends. I am super fun! Listen to me! Don't ignore me you gement!"

* * *

"So they've been located in two places at the same time? Isn't that a bit suspicious?" Wave said after reuniting with the Jaegers.

"It's a trap." Ran simply answered.

"We have to act either way. If we don't answer we'll show weakness once again." Esdese said, walking down the staircase.

"Then what do we do?" Bols asked, starting to get nervous about the tense atmosphere.

"Kill them." Kurome's proposal was pretty straightforward.

"We never know where they'll strike. The fact they've given us two localizations means that it's not only a trap, they're trying to split us up. We're only five, so we can't allow being weakened so much." The commander explained.

"So we just head towards one of the two directions and hope we're right?" Wave asked.

"No, we'll split first."

He tried to argue back, but he wasn't talking to a normal person. Besides, Esdese wasn't stupid. She must had a plan to say something like that. If they really wanted to win, then complaining wasn't an option.

* * *

**Some hours later, in the middle of nowhere...**

"They weren't too bad. I like the sea, so the days weren't too boring. Besides, I still remember the ship I was in like it was yesterday." Wave happily talked with Bols, who was curious about his time in the navy.

"The sea always makes me melancholic. There are certain things that I'd want to throw there... But I've always wanted to go with my family there. The Capital is too dense sometimes." Bols answered with a somewhat bitter tone.

"Yeah...and sometimes it smells horrible. Gee, I can even smell it from here..." He said covering his nose.

"Don't disrespect the capital. It smells like babies." Kurome was somehow offended by a simple sentence.

"Yeah, babies. When you don't change their diapers. But anyways Bols, maybe when this is over I can show you how beautiful the sea is." He said, trying to maintain the subject.

"That's very nice of you. Do you still have a ship?"

"Ah... haha... Yeah, no. It wasn't exactly my ship either. But I'm sure there won't be a problem with that. Besides, we won't need a brigantine for a peaceful trip!" Wave's eyes gleamed with pride, remembering the old days.

"Wave was the one who cleaned the deck." Kurome snapped him out of his mind's eye.

"Shut up. I didn't do _only_ that! I've fought pirates and a... kraken that one time. Though it was only a baby. And then Cthulhu came over and... There were sea shanties too. I didn't really sing, but I know a few songs." He admitted.

"Really? Any favorites?" Bols asked, genuinely curious.

"Hmm... there were a few..."

"Don't sing or it'll rain." She teased him once again.

"Hey, I don't really know if I'm that bad!"

"Prove it."

"Alright, you asked for it! Ehem..."

Wave took a deep breath before exhaling slowly, trying to calm himself.

"The breeze fair aft, all sails on high, ten guns on each side mounted seen. She does not cut the sea, but fly, a swiftly sailing brigantine."

"That doesn't sound like a song. You weren't singing. Why are you still alive?" She prompted.

"Hey, why don't _you _sing?!"

"...You are weird today." Kurome said while looking at the endless passage in front of them.

"Weird? I'm always like this." Wave answered, a bit confused.

"You don't get mad so easily." She said with a monotonous voice.

"It's because this is my war-face, I have to show Night Raid that I mean business! Unlike you, I actually have to activate my teigu."

"...Damn you." She suddenly said, much to Wave's confusion.

"I swear if that's another pun, I'll hit you." He sighed as he tightened his grip on the reins.

He briefly looked to Bols, who seemed to be worried about this whole situation. He could understand it, after all, they had never seen their nemesis in action. What tricks would they pull, or what traps could they set up... They knew nothing.

"Please, Wave. That joke wasn't funny."

"W-Wha... I was messing with you! Wait, you mean I can't?" He said, perplexed.

"No. You're just here to get hit while I do the killing." She said without losing any color on her face.

"Now you're just asking for it. If I'm here to get hit, what is Bols doing?" He asked while pointing at the muscular man that was beside him.

"Fire support."

"Alright, and Ran?"

"Air support."

"...Esdese?"

"Death."

"You?"

"Killing support."

"Uh... Tatsumi?"

"Next-on-the-hit-list support."

"Don't be mean."

"He can replace you when you die. He'll be a younger, better version of you."

"Now you're sounding like Esdese. I don't know what's going through her head to allow him to stay."

"Sh-"

"Do not say what I'm thinking."

"..."

"..."

"What did one volcano say to the other?"

"There's something up ahead."

"Eh? N- Oh."

A dummy, in the middle of nowhere should have triggered everyone's common sense. Of course, the first thought would be to turn around and get the hell out of there. But they were the Jaegers, so they had to check it out.

Everyone dismounted their horses, and steadily headed towards it. Wave, however, took some more security measures placing himself in the front.

What if that organic teigu appeared, and melted them away? He couldn't risk that. If he was fast enough, Grand Chariot would protect them from that acid.

"You're going to die like that."

"Shh."

Everybody saw the beam coming. However, only Kurome was fast enough to dodge it. Whether it was sheer luck or pure skill, it didn't matter as it was obvious that it was a trap.

In an almost exact synchronization with the beam, the scarecrow exploded to reveal a tall man wielding a stave-like weapon, attacking directly at Kurome.

Thanks to his precaution, he was in the best position to defend his partners.

Perhaps it was the words of Dorothea that kept him anxious about the fight, or the mere thought of having someone close to him dying. If he hadn't been so tense, he may have rushed in without a thought.

"Grand CHARIOT!"

The immense force of the dragon appearing from the ground, completely sent flying Kurome and Bols, who were close by. As for the assailant, the wind was strong enough to minimize the damage made by his weapon.

_"This time, I'm prepared...!"_ He thought to himself, as he felt the demon armor enveloping him.

With that armor on, he was completely invulnerable, or so he wanted to think. Unlike Incursio, there were no gaps on the armor, and though he sacrificed explosive power in exchange, he didn't mind at all.

"Kurome! Are you alright?!" Wave yelled, as he took his battle stance.

"Mm." He couldn't see if being blown back had damaged her, but it was unlikely.

"Night Raid...! And this is all of them?" Bols muttered, as if it was some kind of divine retribution to his persona.

"Trap or not, they lost their advantage!"

The Jaegers hadn't been chosen at random. They didn't need stealth, ambushes or deception to fight. If anything, they were the best warriors of the whole Empire, which meant that they _should_ be superior against the assassins.

Najenda, Akame, and two unknown contenders suddenly appeared. Thanks to Kurome's puppets, Night Raid had the odds against them. But would it be enough? Even more important, was this all that Night Raid could offer? Wave knew that they had more than what they were showing.

"Sis, I've been really wanted to see you!" Kurome's cheerful voice only made things more creepy than they should be, as the sisters seemed to be ready to kill each other.

_"I completely forgot that they're both crazy." _He thought, as he dazed towards the tall man in front of him.

Although the man in front of him was clearly strange, Wave hadn't noticed the horns on his head and charged in without a second thought.

He narrowly dodged another attack from his weapon and firmly counterattacked the creature in front of him, dislocating the beings jaw, but it quickly pulled itself together and shook it off like nothing.

It didn't took long for him to realize that his opponent wasn't human, as it even regenerated the damage of his weapon in almost an instant.

_"Is this the teigu Dorothea warned me about? But it isn't a girl, and she told me that it couldn't maintain a human form. So they have two stupid organic teigus..."_

He prepared defend himself from the lioness before flames covered his blind spot, separating Akame and Najenda from the teigu and the cat-lady.

He mentally thanked Bols before preparing another strike in the organic teigu.

_"Great, now I'll be able t-"_

The ground started to shake, similar to his summoning of the demon armor but much more intense and powerful.

A gigantic beast appeared on the battlefield, way too big for a conventional fight. Though the fleshless beast seemed strong, its bones were fragile. But would Night Raid notice in time?

He didn't exactly mind Kurome going all out, and bringing her strongest puppets into the field, but he really didn't appreciate that this strategy would make the fights too spread out.

"Destroy them, Desta-Ghoul!" The immense monster opened its mouth, and energy started to gather densely.

Alarms started to trigger in Wave's head as he was right in the middle of the destruction path of the Ultra-Class dragon. Was she trying to kill him, or did she completely forget about him?!

He neatly flew away, as Bols was in a safe position. Night Raid also dodged the death ray, but were greatly dispersed along in the field. What Kurome was trying to do was smart, but most of her puppets wouldn't be enough to take them out. Unless they ganged up on them.

He shook his head and looked around for his opponents.

"Well, this is troublesome..." He heard the lioness say, as she was surrounded not only by Wave, but by other two puppets.

One strange looking apeman which looked rather strong, and a former general of the Empire who was equipped with a whip.

Akame and Kurome were focused on each other, talking about themselves, probably. Whatever it was, she was smart enough to leave another of her puppets with Bols, who seemed to have escaped uninjured.

The organic teigu he had faced before and Najenda were busy with Desta-Ghoul, and the lioness didn't have too much hopes for reinforcements. However, she was still as calm as water.

"Wave!" Bols quickly approached them, accompanied by the puppet wielding a shield.

"Go help Kurome! I can handle this!" Wave quickly faced the lioness again.

A bright dazzle suddenly occupied his field of vision, overtaking the sun by a few moments. It was a bright beam, which would barely scratch his armor. Unless it wasn't heading for him.

Wave was unable to react as the beam passed right beside him, almost hitting Bols. Luckily it hit the shielded puppet, who was thrown back by the amount of force behind the blast.

"The sniper...!" Thanks to the posters, he knew exactly who that pink haired girl was.

She was running straight for Bols, not even paying attention to any puppet or Jaeger around. Whatever her plan was, it was very reckless and mindless.

Leone was taken aback by her actions too, but she couldn't afford to defend Mein when she also was outnumbered. Seeing that the apeman puppet had focused on the sniper, she quickly threw a glass container towards it, filled with some odd liquid.

Wave completely dismissed that action and rushed towards the sniper, which would kill Bols if he let her way too close.

Leone noticed the same thing and charged at Wave in order to distract as many opponents from Mein until Susanoo and Najenda had taken care of the other puppets.

Wave blocked the blow from her strange looking paws, and dodged a kick before taking a step back. Even then, she didn't let him have a break, as she managed to punch around his forearm and hit Grand Chariot's helmet. However, that kind of strength wouldn't be able to break through.

_"She may be fast and strong... but Grand Chariot should outclass her in every way. Don't think too much of yourself or I'll let down my guard."_

Taking advantage of the moment, he counterattacked with much more success, hitting her right in the head and sending her some meters back. He was kind of surprised to see her with so little blood after such an attack.

Leone knew that even if she couldn't damage him, she could stall for time long enough for reinforcements. Besides, even if that armor was faster than her, she had way more maneuverability than him.

Her reflections were rudely interrupted as Wave dashed down towards her again, this time landing a series of powerful punches to her arms and lower torso. As she lost her balance, Wave tackled her, twisting one of her arms harshly and wrenching her head back. The duo smashed into the landscape in a sea of rocks and debris, Leone's face buried against the dirt.

_"Was he holding back the whole time?!" _She thought, surprised at the sudden rush of energy.

In an explosion of rage, Leone spun around, backhanding Grand Chariot and making him stumble enough to escape his grasp.

Even after that small screw up, she felt relieved. It seemed that the goo had done his job, and the other puppet was nowhere to be seen.

The apeman puppet seemed to have gone berserk as it fought an invisible opponent that covered its body. Even though Leone knew what was happening, Wave was completely lost.

_"What the fuck.. You could have chosen better puppets Kurome! And where's the general-puppet?!" _

Wave looked off at the distance, as he spotted what seemed to be the legs of said general. It looked like Najenda had dealt with him, as the only remain was his head. However, the lack of support during this whole fight from her would mean that Kurome has already sent another puppet after her.

That explained why he and his opponent hadn't received any back up. But then, Bols...?

He turned around to receive a full on blast from the gun Mein's gun teigu. He was thrown back once again, his chest burning from the pressure of the beam.

_"That girl is completely insane! Rushing in like that, leaving herself completely in the open, and surrounded by enemies...! That teigu has so much power, but the owner is only that kid. With that lioness behind me, I won't be able to help Bols in time!"_

Bols and the shielded puppet seemed to be having a hard time against the sniper, which was destroying the puppet's defenses with overwhelming force. Bols' teigu wasn't of much help either, as it wasn't strong enough to counter the beams.

He quickly got up and tried to rush in to help Bols, only to be intercepted by Leone once again.

"What the hell are you looking at?!" Leone yelled as she shot forward, bathed in a golden aura. Wave wasn't completely poised, and was unable to react to her speed.

His reflexes were able to stop her first three punches, but Leone's kick was able to catch him right in the ribs. However, his armor was able to minimize the damage and stopped his stagger, putting him in a perfect position to counterattack. Wave landed a punch on Leone's chin, sending her plummeting into the ground.

_"...What?"_

He dashed in for the kill, but something caught his attention. He turned his head slightly, and saw the great ape, or what was left of it, in a horrible mess of jelly.

He noticed a small girl on top of the carcass of the apeman as naked as the day she was born. She seemed to be greatly confused of where she was. But her confusion was nothing to what Wave was feeling.

"Damn it Dorothea, two seconds my ass!" He snickered briefly, before being interrupted by the Lioness.

"Attack, attack!" Wave heard the cat-lady say as she started to approach him, ready to engage him once again.

The lioness tackled him with a surprising dash, burying him in the ground before he kicked her off. The force of the kick hardly gave her time to recover, as she failed to block another punch from the demon armor. He kneed her in the stomach before finishing up with an uppercut.

Seeing that the advantage was at his side, he avoided her attempt at breaking his coordination and grabbed her by the hair, throwing her against one of the walls of a cliff. He didn't lose any time in the pursue, as he gathered energy for another barrage of attacks.

His attention hadn't changed from target, even after a sulfuric smell entered his nose. Whatever it was, it seemed that the blond Night Raider wasn't going to give up so easily. She still had a lot of energy which she used to jump before it was too late.

_"Is that woman stupid? Charging like that was suicidal. Was she distracting me? But nobody else is here besides..."_

They didn't have the means to pierce Grand Chariot. It was almost unbreakable and the fact that the sniper was fighting Bols and Kurome's puppets too, meant that she wouldn't be able to attack him.

_"That small girl must be the teigu! What do I do?! Kill the child!? As horrible as that sounds I have to act quickly! They must be distracting me from protecting Bols...! He must be their target!"_

The smell of putrid flesh started to fill the battlefield. The source seemed very close, almost as if he was stepping on it.

It didn't matter. He only had to reunite with Bols. Then, they'd be able to deal with Night Raid.

"I'll end this!" He yelled as he used Grand Chariot's speed to get behind the lioness.

Her six sense quickly acted for her as she barely dodged his fist, only to get hit by his elbow. He didn't stop attacking as his kick made contact with her abdomen.

After another successful hit, he realized that she was way more sturdy than what she let on. He had to be stronger than this!

"Is that all you got?!" She taunted him, as if asking for her death.

She could barely outmaneuver fewer and fewer of the upcoming attacks. She lifted her forearm to block Wave's fist, but the Jaeger gripped his block in mid-flight, breaking her last defenses with a devastating kick. The blow caught her completely off guard, leaving her in a vulnerable state.

As she fell, she started to regret using that trump card so soon in the fight. She had thought that the chimera would have joined the fight already, but how could had she forgotten that she had the mind of a child?

She had taken way too much damage, and now Wave was completely leading the fight. He anticipated every move, he had taken essence of her fighting style. Every desperate attack was met with a quick and powerful response that was completely leaving her out of fuel.

Wave had no plans in torturing his opponent, as his friends needed him too. This battle was already won.

Spinning around smoothly, he slid his right arm through her hair and trapped her in a chokehold. However, Leone used her last bits of energy to hold her attackers fingers hand pulled to prevent getting her neck broken.

Much to her surprise, he released her and elbowed her with astonishing speed, breaking her nose.

"Fuck..." She lamented as she was completely out of energy. She could regenerate, but only small wounds and could only reattach limbs with Lubbock's help. And looking around her, everyone was too busy.

Suddenly, Wave was almost crushed by a terrifying attack to his head, which completely shattered the ground below him.

"Su! About time!"

The dust cleared off to show Susanoo standing completely serious, as his weapon danced through his hands for brief moments. Wave looked at the fight going on between Akame and Kurome before stretching his arms.

_"He dealt with Desta-Ghoul too quickly!" _Wave thought.

"Let me help." Leone said, as she regained a bit of fighting spirit.

A loud noise marked the beginning of Susanoo's attack, as his foot crushed the earth beneath him. He smashed his weapon against Wave, who had no choice except but to fly up, taking advantage of his teigu.

The armored warrior swooped in, swinging his leg for a powerful hit against the organic teigu, which would hopefully give him enough time to retreat back with Bols and Kurome.

Susanoo ducked immediately, and gave a quick jump back. Wave rushed after him, only to be meet with a double axe punch from the Lioness, that sent him flying against the ground.

He quickly got up and barely blocked the stave-weapon of the organic teigu. The force of impact knocked him to the side, as he briefly lost his hearing from the sheer impact.

"Kurome! Things are getting complicated over here!" He yelled as he managed to connect a punch against the tall man.

"A-ka-me ~!" Kurome crooned happily in the distance, as she stopped the red eyed killer from getting close to them.

The lioness threw a kick at Wave, which he blocked and managed to tightened his grip, throwing the cat-girl against the blue-haired man. The both of them were sent to the ground, giving him enough time to run away.

_"Now's my chance. Here I go, Bols!"_

He rushed in with amazing speed, quickly closing the gap that separated them both.

He saw the exact moment when the shield of the puppet was pulverized in a powerful laser, which tore off his upper torso. With the death of the puppet, nothing was stopping the sniper from killing Bols.

"Shaa!"

He noticed the small girl suddenly jumping on him, way too late for him to react.

As if somebody had thrown a bucket of red, burning lava, he completely stopped. The thick liquid he had been covered in didn't hurt him at all, but he was hearing something unnatural screaming. Yelling in pain.

_"Shit, that thing must be trying to melt me! Grand Chariot won't let you!"_

The brief instance of shock was enough to slow him down, and his two pursuers caught on relatively quickly. Susanoo once again assaulted him with the overwhelming strength of his weapon, which Wave had to dodge no matter what.

Although Leone had received a lot of damage, her teigu kept her body from falling of exhaustion. She acted together with Susanoo, taking advantage of Wave's lack of peripheral vision.

He couldn't react in time as he was tackled right into Susanoo's strike. The tremendous force of impact sent him flying several hundred of meters away from the fight. Most damage was absorbed by Grand Chariot, but the hit still managed to make him dizzy. He was blown back once again, with no damage. They couldn't kill Wave, that's for sure.

He fell hundreds of meters away, out of breath by the intensity of the attack.

This was what Night Raid wanted, to keep him out of the fight. But with his armor's flying abilities, he could go back in no time.

He tried to shook off the red goo covering his armor, which was making those unnerving yells as it tried to find a gap to enter. If this was Stylish's creation, it was for sure a dangerous beast. If he could bring it back to the Empire, it would be of great help.

He took a running start as he jumped to get back to the fight. He had to get rid of both organic teigus, no matter what.

The ground shattered below him as he flew hundreds of meter above the clouds, before completely stopping.

"Let's see how that thing regenerates after being hit with this!GRAND FALL!"

A blue blur appeared from the skies, delivering a devastating blow to Susanoo, whose head was completely torn off by the sheer impact. The ground shook for a few moments, as the organic teigu's body was blown back in several pieces. He would probably recover from that, but that would take time. Something they were running out of.

Wave's strategy was simple. Dive from the skies and take care of the organic teigu, finish off the Lioness and help Bols and Kurome. With Susanoo out of combat for a few minutes, there was nobody left who could match him.

His hearing was almost overshadowed by the constant yelling of the goo on him, but that didn't stop him from striking down Leone out of sheer reflexes.

"Stay down!"

He didn't know how much damage she could take, but even breaking her spine should slow her down. Before she could react, he delivered a devastating kick to her neck, which snapped loudly as she was thrown off against the ground.

He turned around to see that Bols had erected a wall of fire to stop the sniper from locking in, but Najenda had been able to bypass it, somehow. He couldn't know something he hadn't seen.

However, the important thing was that Bols was still alive, as well as Kurome. Wherever she was.

He could avoid the sniper and rush through the wall of fire, but he couldn't forget that they needed success.

Killing Mein would save them the trouble of being in fear of a long ranged attack, as well as bringing down a strong member of the Revolution.

_"Bols, let me take a quick detour, won't be a minute!"_

Instead of helping Bols directly, he headed towards the sniper. She seemed to be deeply concerned about her gun, which seemed to be smoking out from overheating. Utterly inconvenient for her, but a golden chance for the Jaegers.

Mein quickly noticed Wave, and somehow maintained her composed nature as she pointed the teigu directly at him. At that distance he shouldn't be a difficult target even if he zigzagged around.

Much to his surprise, Mein wasn't shooting. She was precisely aiming where he was even as he moved around, but no shot was fired. Because she couldn't. She was merely trying to stall for some time.

_"I don't have time for this!"_

Her gun-teigu cried as she pressed the trigger once again, but no beam appeared to save her. It was way too overheated for that.

Just when Wave was ready to strike, she suddenly collapsed on herself. He didn't do anything. It was as if she was controlled remotely, and the switch turned off for some reason.

_"And now she's crying... This doesn't change your outcome, sorry."_

He prepared for the kill but unexpectedly tripped and fell flat on the ground. It wasn't a lack of coordination by his part, as he watched how there were some wires around his feet.

"Get out of here, Incursio rip off!" Somebody said, as the wires pulled him away from the sniper.

He was dragged around for a few moments, the time he needed to break the wires and face the new challenger.

Various wires danced around the green haired assassin, who couldn't hide his nervousness well enough.

_"Wires?! That must be the one who completely destroyed Dorothea! I must be careful with somebody so powerful!"_

If he hadn't heard the lies of the alchemist, he would have rushed in without a doubt. But he vacillated and decided to stall the newcomer. Bols could handle Najenda just fine.

"Seryu, do something for the love of whatever's mighty!" The green haired assassin said as the wires started to violently change directions, ready to attack at any second.

The goo that covered Wave fell to the ground, as if it had been completely scared by something. The screaming that covered his ears was gone, and his armor felt over all lighter.

He suddenly remembered what he was supposed to be doing.

"Bols?!"

Wave turned around to see that his fire support was fine, but that didn't mean everything was going well.

Before he could react, Wave was suddenly crushed by a hammer-like object, the exact same Susanoo was using. The force almost knocked him out, but he managed to keep his senses intact.

"Su!" The organic teigu had completely regenerated his severed head and body, and was back in action without losing any strength.

Wave quickly ducked and counterattacked immediately, his kick coming low toward Susanoo. However, his leg was completely tangled wires, stopping the destructive blow.

The wires moved around his torso, preventing him from backing away. He tried to break the wires, but he couldn't gather enough energy in such a small amount of time. Because Susanoo was already upon him.

There wasn't anything preventing the teigu from killing him.

"Fuck!" Wave lashed out as the stave weapon hit him dead on, cracking his helmet and leaving him unconscious.

Whatever happened afterwards, he didn't know.

He couldn't breathe. The impact had been overwhelming and knocked the air out of his lungs. It was like his lungs were on fire, unable to put the fires out.

He fell flat on the ground, expecting his death at any second.

But it didn't come.

How much had it been? Just a few seconds, or several hours? Where were the sounds of the battlefield? Was he even out in the open? He couldn't hear anything. The ringing on his head just kept going, not losing any intensity.

There was somebody talking near him. A familiar voice.

"Kurome, don't! He still has a pulse!" He recognized Bols' voice, and if he was correct then Kurome was there too.

"Am...I dead?" He managed to mutter, as he opened his eyes. The light quickly made him close them, but it made him realize he was still alive.

The soothing feeling of being alive slowly covered Wave, who couldn't help but to grin.

"No, not yet!" Wave saw the happiness of Bols even behind his mask.

He was still in the exact same spot where he had been knocked out. He slowly sat in the ground, seeing that there seemed to be no danger.

"What...? Did they all leave...?"

"Yes. Ran and the Commander are still pursuing them." Kurome briefly explained, upset about something.

"Oh right... I completely forgot about the plan. I still can't believe that worked. How did Esdese know...?"

A warm feeling filled his chest, mixed with relief. This was surely a win for him. He fought against several of them, and he was sure he had killed the blond lioness. Unless she had way much more strength than he thought.

However... a win for him didn't mean a win for Esdese. He _thought_ he had killed one of them, it wasn't a 100% percent guess. If they had destroyed a teigu at the very least...

"The goo, is it still here?! We have to capture the damn teigu!" He jumped out, grabbing Grand Chariot from the ground.

"A teigu? Why would Night Raid leave it here then?" Bols said as he looked at the red goo with wonder.

"Hey I was knocked out. If you don't know, then I won't either. The only thing I know is that we should capture it before it tried to kill us."

"How do you know?" Kurome inquired.

"Huh? I thought you all knew about it."Seeing the weirded expression of Kurome, he concluded that they didn't know why what it was.

"You are having hallucinations. That goo won't move." She pointed out, mocking him.

The goo suddenly started to move, gathering itself in one spot. The erratic way it moved, like a very fast heartbeat, was creepy enough to raise quite a few alarms.

Bols quickly got a few meters back, sensing danger from the goo.

"That was good timing... Bols, if it gets hostile, burn it down." Wave said as he approached the organic teigu.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm hoping Dorothea wasn't actually messing with me, because I'm going to talk with it." He didn't even activate Grand Chariot, hoping that it wouldn't recognize him without the armor.

"Who?"

"The girl that has all the bandages." He answered.

"Ohh, mummy girl."

The goo adopted anthropomorphic features, before starting to get a pale skin color and starting to look like a human.

"Are you really going to talk with it?" Kurome said behind him with an apathetic aura.

"Well, if she was lying and I die... don't turn me into a puppet." He answered with a sigh.

"I was going to before. Why shouldn't I?"

Before he could answer to her obvious senseless question, he focused into the small girl in front of him, weeping in fear and confusion.

_"Alright, alright. It's just a child. Speak to it like a child."_

"Hi there... Are you lost?" Wave said as he kneeled down, bringing his eye level to her height.

It seemed that she hadn't even realized he was there until he talked. She seemed scared at the newcomer, but it didn't seem like she would attack.

"We're... We're good guys, so you can come with us."

She shook her head with intensity, out of fear.

"T-Then you're lost? We can help you find your family." Wave wasn't exactly calm to talk with something that could melt his skin in an instant, but he regained his composure quickly.

The girl nodded reluctantly. It seemed that his words had actually reached her. But was she so easy to manipulate as Dorothea said?

"I see. We'll search them right when we go home, right Ku... Chrome?"

_"I probably shouldn't say our names, just in case." _He thought as Kurome probably complained about the name.

The small girl looked straight into his eyes and crawled to get close to him. Her eyes were void of any emotion, and her straight hair covered much of her head and body making her look quite phantasmagorical.

_"She's creepy. Bols, I know you can't hear me, but please, ready your teigu..."_ He managed to get his body calmed as the girl touched his chest,

"Koro." The little girl said, not moving her eyes from him.

"W-Who's Koro?"

"Ku...Rome." He backed away as the girl repeated the words in a cracked voice.

He readied Grand Chariot, ready to call the demon armor whenever he needed.

"We are from the Empire. You're like us, aren't you? We seek very evil assassins to bring them to justice. You were a soldier too, right? You should come with us." Wave tried to reason with it again, even if it seemed to have no effect on her.

_"Was that damn alchemist bullshitting me?!"_

"Jus...tice...?"

"I'm killing it." Kurome moved in front of Wave and unsheathed her katana before she could react.

Her katana flashed out and the body of the small girl plummeted to the ground before turning into goo once again.

"What the hell Kurome?! I was getting her on our side!" He yelled, seeing no reason behind her actions.

"I felt her killing intent. She was going to kill you. Was your head so damaged before?" Even if her words weren't ill intended, he certainly didn't like them.

He didn't feel anything, but then again his head was still ringing from before.

"Fine... even then, I don't think it was necessary to do that. It's not like that was going to kill her. It. Whatever it is."

"The commander will freeze her and bring it over." Kurome said while sitting besides the red goo.

"...Well, this was a success. We're not dead." Wave said as he almost plummeted to the ground, feeling all the damage hitting him all of a sudden.

"And my sister is not dead either." Kurome answered.

"Fine. But I may have killed one. And that sniper girl cried in front of me, so I guess that accounts as damage." He tried to keep a positive façade, even if he didn't think like that.

"Mm..." She nodded.

"Next time think on the others too. I don't care how strong you are, facing Akame alone is a bad idea." Wave said looking directly at her, trying to look serious.

"No."

"Excuse me?"

Did she put the killing of her sister above her companions? He shouldn't think of her as inconsiderate, but he didn't want to die just because she focused on Akame. If he had been knocked out early in the battle, would she have taken a more active role? He would never know.

"Wave. It's on my clothes." Kurome said, pointing at a small spot on her uniform.

"What is it?"

He managed to not freak out with all his might, but that wasn't easy. Was that the devilish goo of mightiness?

"D-Don't move. Just... eh, remove your uniform." He carefully tried to inspect the stain, only to notice that it was dry.

"Ah, it was my own blood. Never mind." She said with her stoic voice.

"Don't scare me like that you psychopath! Wait, did Akame cut you?!" He yelled again.

"Hm... Maybe it's your spit from all your shouting."She said, touching the small stain. It was probably water, as it seemed to be stuck on her clothes with no repercussions.

"I think I have a sore throat... Bols, you're awfully quiet." He said, looking back at his partner.

"Yes, sorry. I think it's moving once again."

* * *

**Yes, was this chapter a method to gain time? Maybe, maybe, but I swear to God that I will update frequently! I've regained some confidence back, so I'll be nice.**

**I think this is the last chapter I won't like. Only because I don't have to write them at night, which I noticed makes them wonky. (Makes me wonky, better said.**

**What else, what else... Yes, the next **** ̶M̶e̶i̶n̶ ****Night Raid part (Next chapter) is actually more about Mein than anything, but the others of course have protagonism. I'm stil wondering if I should stick to 3rd person for anybody that isn't Tatsumi... If somebody actually reads this, you can answer.**

**"_B-But HaruhismFollower, where was Chelsea?" _Read last chapter again or wait for the next chapter where it'll explain what the hell she's doing.**

**Just getting that out of the way. **

**And like I always tell next chapter's title, I'll do it again! I don't have a name... But Pleonasm seems to be on point.**

**Like always, I love you all! I'll try to check this email more frequently to not miss any PMs! Tell me all your criticism or insults in whatever that box below is called!**


	25. The Shame of Loss

**I'm too tired to write whatever I write here.**

**By the way, last chapter Wave called Kurome 'Chrome' to distract Seryu. Pronounced, it would sound like Ku-ro-mu, so it's funny. Laugh.**

**FUCK I UPLOADED THE WRONG FILE! It's fixed now.**

* * *

**Night Raid Interlude**

_**The Shame of Loss**_

* * *

The night is hostile for any human. We can't see at night and our, now almost non-existent, predators are fully prepared to attack us. However against other humans that changes. Attacking at night is almost guaranteed to propagate chaos, just when your enemy is at its weakest.

That must the meaning of _Night Raid. _To propagate chaos in the Empire, so that the Revolution may have a chance. And up to date, they had been doing a superb job. The Jaegers had been trying, but ultimately failed to approach them.

No assassin had fallen against them, and Dr. Stylish had been dealt with.

But that small advantage meant nothing. Not with Esdese and Budou on their side, nor with the rumors of a new secret police. Night Raid had to act before the Empire recovered from their finite numbers of teigu users.

To destroy the Empire, they needed to kill Esdese. And that would be impossible without dealing with the Jaegers. Whether if it was head on or picking them off one by one, like they did with the mad scientist.

The Stylish Raid had been a quickly assembled operation, which had been originally an scout mission. They recovered precious information, as well as two teigus. But the involvement of Syura, the son of the prime minister, was still a mystery. Whatever he was doing, it couldn't be good.

Another unknown factor, the alchemist, was something everyone didn't want to think of. She was connected with Stylish, and more than likely with Syura. It wasn't her teigu what concerned them, but her knowledge. What could have she learnt from the scientist?

And then, the last variable was the white coated soldier. What was he supposed to be? Somebody that just sought vengeance, or did he just want to get into h-

"Stop thinking out loud." Mein said as she hit Lubbock on the shoulder.

"Oww...! I was giving a small summary of the events!" He retorted back, taking a few steps back out of good measure.

"It happened barely three weeks ago, not three months!" She brushed her hair aside while leaning back against the wall.

Everyone except Najenda had gathered in the hall. Though it wasn't any different from any other meeting, there was some unknown twinge that made everyone determined to fight. Even if there were different reasons.

Duty, determination, revenge, it didn't matter.

If they wanted to beat Esdese, they had to be constantly evolving. But change doesn't exactly equal a good outcome.

"You really keeping your hair straight? So this is what being every day with Akame looks like..." Lubbock commented, as he decided to talk with Mein again.

He didn't want to do it, because she had been too moody these last days. She was getting angry more frequently, even for someone like her. But straight up ignoring her wasn't the way to go, or at least that was what he was thinking.

"You're every day with her too!" She suddenly snapped back, unusually soon.

"Well, I don't tend to have baths with her. And look how Akame's staring at me now, she knows that I'm throwing you out of her sphere of influence."

"That's because you're too creepy lately. Besides, I decided to change it myself. I don't have any more hair bands." She affirmed with a conceited aura around her.

"I have trouble believing that you only had a pair of hair bands." That sounded like a very unreasonable lie to him. Of course, he couldn't say that.

"Yes. I also thought of cutting it." She gently caressed her hair with a mixed expression of sadness and disgust.

"Wait, no! If you do that, it will throw of the whole morphology we have!" Lubbock suddenly exclaimed.

"The morpho-what?"

"You know; Akame has long hair, Leone has short hair, you have long hair, Najenda has short hair and Chelsea, well, she has long hair. We're three to two, and if you do that, then we're... two to three... Huh, I should have thought this through." He scratched the back of his head, trying to get his ideas out.

"Oh, eh... W-Well, it's not like I'm going to do it. I just don't feel comfortable with it anymore." Mein looked at the table they were sitting at before sulking in again.

"Then if you cut it, give me the remains of your hair. I want them for my cross dressing techniques." He casually said, knowing what her reaction would be.

"You're disgusting."

"What? Bald people do it."

"Is that why you keep wearing those goggles on your head? Are you losing hair, Lubbo?" Mein replied back with a smug smile.

"I was saying..." He tried to defend himself, but it was already too late.

Sensing the distress of Lubbock, Leone quickly approached both of them.

"Ahh, that explains why he's so friendly lately. He's getting old and he doesn't have a heir yet. Who will inherit the Lubbock legacy?!" Leone jumped in, taking the chance to mess with Lubbock.

"I don't...! Wait, you know I'm technically dead! I don't have any lands! Why is it that you women always go against me?!" He looked around for support, but Susanoo wasn't exactly a viable support and Chelsea just smiled back at him, enjoying his demise.

"It's that parka you're wearing. It yells danger from a distance." Leone said.

"Hey, it's beautiful! Akame, support!"

"Good job." Akame said while giving him a thumbs up.

After that wrong support, he collapsed on his chair defeated, seeing no help around.

"Ugh, I need more male friends. You're all conspiring against me!"

"Yep, that's right! Night Raid will become a girls only group." She joked, feeling that the the world had returned to its statu quo.

"Don't kick out Su too!"

"He can stay. He isn't toxic like you!" Mein happily defended Susanoo.

"Woah ,woah! If anyone's toxic here, it's that putty girl!" He said while pointing at the small girl at the corner of the room.

"Hm, you're right… We'll have to get rid of her first before kicking you." Mein admitted, looking away from the gooey girl.

"Yeah, that's right. How about we do this… Oi Leone, this an ultra private conversation. Go away, kittycat."

Leone smacked his head, before walking back towards Chelsea. The auburn-colored assassin had been quite passive with Mein.

"You shouldn't be so distant from her. I'm sure she's already forgotten about what you said." Leone started talking, leaning against the wall near her.

"She has other things to worry about, don't you think?Even then she doesn't look too affected by it." Chelsea said while looking at her lollipop.

"Probably. I don't know what's going through her head, but that mind of hers is too strong to give up... I can't really see her collapsing any time soon."

"She's not under pressure. I wouldn't risk it sending her to a mission." The shapeshifter said.

"We'll never know if we don't try. She isn't usually in the frontlines... but if you doubt her that much, then I guess you don't think the same?" Leone said, mixing half-truths with a bit of teasing.

"I don't doubt her, I'm sure she doesn't want a flashback or relapse. But she doesn't have control over that, does she?"

"The Jaegers don't have any blondies, and I doubt we'll fight on a closed space. There's no reason for that to happen. In any case, Akame has been keeping tabs on her. She doesn't want to leave her alone. Being in solitude after a traumatic event…" Leone quickly put on a smile, trying to lessen the gloomy topic. "In any case, it's not bad to talk to yourself, isn't it?

"Until 'yourself' starts talking back. In any case, at least Lubbock has been pretty mild lately." Chelsea knew that convincing Leone of something when she has already set her mind, was pretty much impossible. Of all the other assassins, Leone was the one who was closer to her.

"I would say that's pretty good! He's descending into docile levels. Maybe by every broken arm, he becomes two thirds less perverted."

Mein and Lubbock were whispering like a pair of plotters, definitely forgetting that they had been fighting less than two minutes ago.

"Heh, it's quite funny how he tries to play the cool guy while he's worried. The bastard is actually thinking what he says!"Leone faked her bothered expression, making sure that he would hear it.

"He's still too witty. I would smack him once or twice before it gets out of hand." Chelsea made her words quite loud too, enjoying the coordination of Leone.

"Oh now it's down! You're both in my shit-list!"

* * *

Briefly after, Najenda walked in and everyone calmed down immediately. Everyone sat down around the table, and the shy girl, that was previously known as Seryu, quickly approached Leone. Obviously, that didn't make a good impact on Mein, and to a lesser extent, to Lubbock.

She explained with every detail the plan to take down the Empire. A three way attack, with help of the western tribes along with "Path of Peace", would divert enough troops for the Revolutionary army, who should swiftly gain territory until they reach the capital.

The next objective would be securing the stability of the religious group, but that would be impossible to do before weakening the Jaegers first. With Incursio still in imperial hands, they can't afford an attack right now. The combination of Incursio and Grand Chariot, could have disastrous effects for the Revolutionary army.

"If you gave me a bit more time, I should have Incursio before this weekend." Chelsea said, confident of herself.

"We don't have much more time. The revolt must reach the capital before winter, or we'll suffer too much attrition. Besides, regarding the Jaegers... we will need everyone." Najenda leaned forward, feeling a rush of adrenaline.

"They know they have the upper hand in the open field, that's why we will lure them out of the capital. And then we'll attack!"

"Isn't that too obvious? I mean, they also know this, right?" Mein said, while looking at the small girl cowering behind Leone.

"Of course. But Esdese needs results. The Jaegers' goal is to eliminate us, and she hasn't been doing a good job at it. Knowing her, she will come to us even knowing that it's a trap." She explained.

"And I suppose we have a priority." Lubbock said as he tried to disregard the bad mood of Mein.

"HQ has given priority to Bols and Kurome. If Chelsea isn't able to recover Incursio and it appears on the battlefield, take him out."

"Well, he isn't going to appear. Can we talk about _that_ problem now?" Mein pointed at the goo-girl, who seemed way too scared of Lubbock to actually care.

"...Fine. What's your report, Leone?" Najenda uncomfortably looked at the child, who had become aware that everyone was staring at her.

"Well, she seems to only remember her death and not much else. Or at least that's what her drawings show. She does recognize Lubbock, for obvious reasons." She showed the various drawings they had been making, all having various trees around a puddle of blood.

"...But besides that, I can't say she's very... bright. I tried teaching her some basic math, but like Lubbock here makes her cry every time, I can't do anything!" She complained to him, who immediately defended himself.

"Oh come on, a kid of her age should be able to do the square root of 25!" He retorted back.

"Agh, Noble-Lubbock get out of here. Yeah, what more... Well, she remembers me even after turning to goo, so we can assume she remembers her time here."

"Which means we won't be able to left her with HQ." Chelsea ended the phrase, much to the despair of Mein.

"Oh no, no, no! That monster isn't staying here!" Mein complained with every part of her body.

"Yeah, I'm going to agree with her. I don't want the girl eating my other arm." Lubbock sided with Mein, who seemed pleased about the backup.

"It's not like we have much of a choice. Besides, Lubbo, you know what she can do in battle, don't you?" Chelsea continued.

"If what that damn alchemist told me was true, those are only more reasons to keep her away from me. Just lock her up in a jar. It can't melt away plant cells, so put a cork and we're done with this." He replied nonchalantly.

"...And use it as a grenade?" Chelsea pressed once again.

Everyone knew that to win this war, a stupid amount of power was needed. Leaving this potential go to waste wasn't a particularly good choice, as that freak of nature could be used to spare the lives of people they cared about.

"And what, throw it at Esdese and hope she doesn't freeze it right away?" Mein chimed in again, for obvious reasons.

"We can use it in Grand Chariot and Incursio."

"We have Susanoo."

"You have me." The latter suddenly said.

"Both are very strong armors, so leaving them out of the fight using the...How do we call her? Anyways, it would be the best to take them out with it."

"But it doesn't melt metal." Mein stopped herself as she realized something about those two teigus. "Well, we don't know if it's really Tyrant's flesh."

"If you put it like that... I guess you're right. We don't lose anything trying that." Lubbock admitted.

"Hey ,come on, I thought we were in this together..." Mein whispered as he pulled him closer.

"Think about it, if the Jaeger's manage to kill her, we win. If they don't, they'll probably die. It's a win-win situation" He quickly explained.

"Besides, we don't know much about Grand Chariot, but if it's anything like Incursio, the best thing we can do is to take them out quickly. Even if it doesn't melt away, I'm sure that thing can hug them to death." He explained. "And having a naked child around in the battlefield will confuse everyone." Lubbock remarked, much to everyone's disappointment.

"...Is it really indestructible?" Akame suddenly said, genuinely curious.

"Well, we can't kill it with my strings."

"And Pumpkin pierces through it but nothing else." Mein followed.

"Wait, how do you know that?" Leone was caught off guard by her statement. Did she really try to kill her while she wasn't looking?

"If there's nothing else to discuss, then we'll use it in our next fight. Leone, use it wisely. Chelsea, I give you one more day until we start the new Operation. Will it be enough?" The boss said while getting up from the chair.

"I'll see what I can do. That boy is really unstable, so I won't guarantee anything. But, as long as we have this little girl here..." She approached the quivering girl and pulled out a needle.

In less than a second, Chelsea had already stabbed the small girl without her noticing. There wasn't anything stopping her from using Seryu's appearance.

"I don't even know how that's working. Is he stupid enough to believe you're a ghost?" Leone said while getting up from the chair.

"Honestly, I don't know. I expected him to freak out when he first saw me, but I guess he has hallucinations every now and then. I've only done this twice, but I suppose he can't distinguish if it's on his head or in the out world."

"...Why are you doing that? I'm sure he'll give it to you if you explain the situation. " Mein said with an afflicted look.

"There she goes again... Welp, I'm going to take a nap." Lubbock murmured as he headed straight for the exit.

"Hey! What do you mean by that?!" She snapped at the green haired assassin.

"It's a siesta!" He crooned before disappearing from the doorframe, whispering some kind of old song.

"That wasn't what I meant! Aaghh! That imbecile!" She huddled up for a brief moment, before getting up upset.

Leone tried to say something, but she didn't really understand the sudden switch of emotions. Maybe she really hates the goo-girl hiding behind her.

"Akame, how are you seeing Mein for this mission?" Najenda suddenly spoke, breaking the silence of the room.

The red-eyed assassin closed her eyes and thought for a few seconds before answering.

"She is better than before. Her hair is very smooth now, but she doesn't want her twintails back. She also gets angrier more quickly but she's been laughing and joyful this week." She said while nodding every time she reached a pause.

"And her skills?"

"Great performance."

"..." Najenda stopped for moment, thinking of what she should do.

It wasn't wise to send Mein into battle so soon. She was somewhat normal in the everyday life, but under stress she could crack… or remain in control. In any other condition, she'd stay on standby.

But right when they had to face the Jaegers? Najenda needed every asset they had. If Mein somehow was killed or injured, it would be entirely her fault. But she couldn't let her stay. If the worst situation happened and she had a panic attack, at the very least it would make her teigu stronger.

"Alright. She'll come too. And Chelsea, we'll start the operation with or without you. Whether it's impossible to recover Incursio or not, notify us immediately."

* * *

A few days after, the operation began. Their scouts had reported that the Jaegers had taken the bait and separated. It was the moment of truth.

Chelsea had seen a great opportunity to get Incursio just the day before. It seemed that the Jaegers wouldn't see her today.

Mein had carefully cleaned her teigu, making sure that it wouldn't overheat. She knew that she wouldn't miss, and she couldn't either. Akame shouldn't be the one who killed her own sister, so if she did it… she'd be grateful even if she didn't show it.

A few minutes later, three figures appeared on the horizon. She was in a great position to take a shot.

_"There's no air. It's a clear shot. It's a shame that guy isn't a bit more to the right, or I'd get two birds with one stone."_

She maintained her breathing for a few moments, and slowly aimed to Kurome's head. Pumpkin slowly gathered energy, barely making any sound. There wouldn't be any better opportunity to kill Akame's sister.

Without any thought, she pulled the trigger.

The recoil of the teigu was imperceptible, and the sight of the gun didn't move the slightest. That was why she was able to see how her target suddenly dodged the beam without a care in the world.

_"Did... Did I miss?"_

She shook her head. Kurome had dodged it, as unreal as it looked like. She couldn't have missed such an easy shot.

With the element of surprise out, she silently got up from her watch and ran towards another position. Now that her position was known, there was no point in staying there.

She slid down a slope which left her in the middle of a forest. It was on the way for her new spot, and it would cover her from any Jaeger that was around. However, the ground was still too dry and it would reveal her position right away.

Taking those chances, she walked at a fast pace, feeling the ground shaking and the cry of an unnerving creature on the distance.

"...?"

She stopped as she saw a shadowy figure popping out of the ground. The figure suddenly acquired a battle stance and got itself into cover quickly.

Mein did the same, as the figure shot at her with an amazing speed.

_"Two guns?"_

She looked at Pumpkin, and considered changing it to rapid fire mode. But with that she wouldn't be able to penetrate Grand Chariot's armor and, at that moment, she couldn't know how the fight was going.

_"One shot should be enough." _The sniper rolled out of her cover and aimed where the figure should be at.

The beam ripped off any tree or branch that was in the way, burning the few trees that were spared from the energy. Her teigu was giving high amounts of energy, and she was having trouble to control it. Why was that happening? She had no trouble to measure the power before.

She threw herself to the ground as more shots flew directly to her, a few gracing her shoulder.

Even then, she remained calm. A few scratches wasn't something to mourn for and her teigu was still in optimal conditions.

She repositioned herself and once again aimed with pinpoint accuracy. She pressed her triggerfinger and... didn't shoot.

_"Blond...?"_

She said several derogatory terms about the blond puppet before shooting and missing once again. Fire enveloped the trees that were around them, from the teigu's unusual firepower.

The gunfire between them was getting extremely dull, with either side not being able to accurately strike each other down. To end that draw, the puppet decided to close the gap between them by run and gunning.

As the gunslinger was getting closer, the gunshots were becoming more and more accurate. However, the same couldn't be said for the assassin, who was invaded by a brief deja vu.

Mein took cover decided to get more distance between them. She remembered perfectly how the fight with Dorothea progressed, with that girl getting slowly closer until she was forced to destroy the ceiling. She couldn't be left in a dead end like that ever again.

Because then...

The blood left her face, leaving her pale for a brief second. She trembled for a few moments as unpleasant memories rushed out of nowhere, hunting her.

She almost fell to the ground, but managed to roll and hide against one of the many trees. The shortness of her breathing, along with her racing heart made it hard to do take control of herself. She was choking on her own emotions and that couldn't happen in middle of a fight.

More bullets flied down on her position, which only made her more anxious and prone to lose control. It didn't help that the forest was getting on fire, quite literally.

Mein frantically looked for her target, who moved swiftly around the forest without losing any speed. It wasn't doing any good that the assassin hadn't moved from the spot, basically making her an easy target.

_"Fuck your fucking trees!"_

The sniper left her cover and charged Pumpkin, preparing to use her trump card for a mere pawn on the chessboard.

The teigu launched a long, powerful beam. It would be enough to destroy anything in its path, but it didn't stop there as she moved her teigu as a reaper. Everything in a 180 degree angle was completely obliterated and left on fire.

Did she hit Kurome's puppet? Maybe, perhaps.

There was no way she could know, as she was already running away from the ruined forest. Her teigu hadn't overheated, which was more than enough to make her focus on her next target.

_"Don't lose control, everything's fine. It's fine. I have to provide fire support. Even if I just keep missing...It's fine, that's what fire support means. I don't have to hit, that's fire support. It's fine."_

If she couldn't get rid of the pain on her chest, then she would use it to her advantage. Being on edge was very dangerous and that would only make her teigu stronger. If only she could get close enough to the battlefield...

Deciding that it wasn't worth it to check if the puppet was still alive, Mein headed towards the battle as fast as her dress allowed her to.

She could see that Leone was surrounded by the Grand Chariot user, and another puppet. Right now, she was only 50 meters away from the two of them but she had completely lost confidence on her skill, thanks to the previous battle.

She fired her teigu, locking on Bols who was just behind the armored man, and moved on, not bothering to see if she had even hit her target.

That's right, the main objective were Kurome and Bols. Mein hadn't seen the former, so that narrowed the options.

Bols' teigu was a flamethrower, which meant he could also hit her from quite a distance. But fire couldn't beat the energy of Pumpkin. What was more worrisome was the bald puppet protecting him with some kind of shield. Would it bounce off the energy?

While running, she randomly pulled the trigger and hoped to test the might of that shield before getting into the fight. Sadly, it flew into the distance.

The shielded puppet carefully approached her, not leaving any part of his body uncovered by his defense.

It seemed that all the tactics and plans she had thought in the brief route towards the battle had somehow expired ,as she was left alone to fight a puppet and a teigu user. She didn't want to remember, because then she'd be hit by another wave of memories.

But the human brain has this small error when you try to not think about something. Ironically, not wanting to think about something only makes you think about it more.

"The alchemist...!"

Her teigu flared in strength as it fired several consecutive shots, each one missing by a wider extent. Obviously, the damage to her opponents was minimal.

The puppet quickly made its way towards Mein, charging with its shield with enough force to threw her off balance.

"Get away!"

She aimed her teigu to the ground, making it explode into smithereens. The puppet fell into the small crater, but it hadn't been hurt at all.

Just as she looked up to localize Bols, a wave of fire made her jump into prone. The flames burned some of her hair, but she managed to get a shot at Bols which failed miserably.

The sniper quickly crouched, and aimed at the masked teigu user. Bols tried to use his flamethrower against her once again, but the sniper was way quicker on the trigger than him. He rolled around, making her fail every shot.

All the tension on Mein made her lose her peripheral vision, just when the bald puppet sneaked up on her.

He bashed his shield against her right shoulder with enough force to threw her to the ground. It wasn't just her shoulder what was affected, but everything from her head to toes. However, it wasn't the pain what troubled Mein.

"_On the ground again, where's Tatsumi, where's he?! N-no , Pumpkin isn't lost, it's right…!"_

"...Here!" With her right arm screaming, her teigu raged on again, this time successfully.

The puppet hid behind its shield, but he was pushed back by the hot air and raw force of the gunteigu. The shield didn't bounce back any energy, it was absorbing it in form of heat.

"You're not getting me this time!" She said while switching Pumpkin from her right arm. What good was a sniper that relied on one hand anyways?

She shot another volley of beams at the downed puppet, who used his shield once again. One of the few beams that didn't contact the puppet, was lucky enough to graze Grand Chariot. It was a 100% planned.

"Mein!" Najenda landed next to her, having used Susanoo to take down Desta-Ghoul.

"B-Boss! I-I-I…!" _Can't do it._

"No talk now!"

Najenda used her iron fist to land a hit on the puppet, who tried to attack them while they were talking to each other.

Mein quickly decided to aim at the teigu user, who was the prime target. Her shaky pulse wasn't steady enough but she decided to try anyways.

She remembered what happened when she fought against Dorothea once again. When Tatsumi was down, there was nothing else she could do. So if Najenda somehow was struck by a great hit…

"_No! The target is Bols!"_

She pulled the trigger, filled with a strange fatigue over her shoulders. The puppet quickly noticed this, and disengaged from the battle with Najenda to protect Bols.

The beam completely decimated the shield, having enough force to kill the puppet behind it. But there was a problem now. Pumpkin overheated.

Bols was quick enough to notice this, and used his teigu to make a wall of fire. It separated Najenda from Mein, making both of them vulnerable.

"Switch parts, switch parts!"

She quickly tried to stop the overheating by removing some parts from the teigu, but it was way too hot to touch it. It could have another shot on it, but that would mean to completely leave her out of the fight, and she couldn't have that.

As if she was unaware of what happened around her, she looked up to see Grand Chariot rushing at her.

She aimed, trying to fool him and gain some time until the others arrived but…

She saw Susanoo beheaded on the distance, and Leone down too. Akame had dissappeared from her sight. She was alone again.

Suddenly, she couldn't breathe. Her heart screamed for air while her doom had noticed that she couldn't fight. It was right at that moment when she closed herself on her mind.

"_I'm going to die."_

Her body fell limp, like a doll which has no more use to you. She was breathing, but her mind didn't make her believe it. Was she cold, or was she embedded with heat? Could she move her fingers, or were they numb?

Why was it happening again?

* * *

_Not too far off from the battlefield..._

"And he's flying..." Lubbock said as he saw a blue dot in the distance. He was sure that was Grand Chariot.

He had a very tough job to do. Make sure that nobody sneaks on them. That meant that no matter how bad things would get, he had to keep his duty going if they didn't want to face total annihilation.

His wires only covered the forest, and he didn't know what was happening in the main battle. The only thing he knew was that Mein had rushed in for some reason. Chelsea wasn't there, but she wouldn't be of much help. And it seemed that Akame and Kurome did a very brief dance around the forest before going back.

In any case, the chances of Esdese and that bird-guy appearing were very low. They had taken the bait.

What were the chances anyways?

Out of nowhere, his wires started to go crazy. Something was _flying_ at a fast pace. As if it had fallen out of heaven, like an angel. And it was heading north, right into the fight.

But, there was someone else heading there too but a much slower pace, as if riding a horse. And the only explicable reason was...

"...Fuck my life."

He had to be fast. Alert everyone and get out of the Esdese range party. If that birdman reached the battle before him, things could turn out very ugly.

He pulled some strings, and started to swiftly propel himself around the trees. In this dense forest, he couldn't go very fast, but the only other option was to glide above the tops of the trees and that could turn very bad if he was attacked.

However, he couldn't be so picky about getting a few wounds. He _had_ to get everyone out of there.

Taking advantage of a small clearing, he launched himself above of the forest and used the strings to go as fast as possible.

It didn't take much time before Ran noticed him and attacked Lubbock with a few deadly feathers. The sharp feather-like blades were precise, even at the speed they both were traveling at. Sadly for Ran, it seemed that his enemy had several strings flying around him that knocked out of course his plumes.

Lubbock feigned an attack with his wires to retreat back to the forest, where he wouldn't be so vulnerable to his flying enemies attack. Besides, he had guessed that Ran wouldn't be so crazy to fly into that crowded forest.

_"What the hell do I do? Even if I'm safe here from his attacks, I won't be able to get to the others in time. I have to take out his wings, or even better, kill him." _Lubbock thought as he used most of his concentration into dodging trees and maintaining himself in the air.

Ran tried to attack him from above, but the lack of visibility made his aim very imprecise. He decided to ignore Lubbock and help Kurome and the others, but something pulled him into the forest.

He was hit by various branches and leaves, but he quickly grasped hold of the situation. His foot was tangled in a few strings, which he quickly sliced with his feathers before it ripped his leg off.

Lubbock cursed under his breath before dashing again towards the fight. Esdese might be slower than him _right now_, but it didn't mean she wasn't fast. If she could fly, then things could get very ugly.

He hoped that Ran would lose quite a bit of time, but he noticed that he was a few meters behind him, going as fast as him.

Ran did not only manage to avoid every tree, but also had enough time to attack him with those feathers without losing any speed.

_"Great, he hasn't realized it yet..." _

With a subtle movement of his left hand, Lubbock was abruptly launched upwards as he made a barrier of wires in front of him. The plan was simple. Ran would decapitate himself as he crashed into the strings.

But Esdese's right hand proved himself once again, as he gracefully danced around the wires without losing any speed.

"_Keep going south sucker!" _Lubbock thought, as he won the tactical fight between them.

When he pulled Ran below the tree line, he briefly lost his sense of direction and followed the assassin. Lubbock planned ahead of time, and made that trap for him, to make him focus on the trees and not the direction.

Now Ran was going south while Lubbock headed straight for the battle.

After a few seconds, Ran suddenly stopped as he realized that he wasn't following the assassin any longer. Following those thoughts, he rose above the trees.

"Tsk..." He clicked his tongue as he realized that he had fallen right into the trap.

He was going backwards. But it seemed that his opponent had planned that from the beginning and now he had lost precious time to aid his comrades, while the assassin had changed paths way before him.

* * *

Najenda had been cut off from the others by a wall of fire, but she wasn't defenseless. Bols had the upper hand in long rage combat, but thanks to her artificial arm, she was able to hit the teigu user even if less precise.

"Najenda!"

A voice suddenly entered the battlefield and lifted her away from Bols.

"Lubb-!"

If Lubbock was here, it meant that the whole area would be under a cape of ice in less than a minute. But how could Esdese know? They got a report where it specifically said that the Jaegers divided themselves.

"She's here!"

Lubbock passed through the fire barrier at great speed, carrying Najenda along. He didn't know if Bols could somehow walk through fire, but they needed to get out fast.

As they passed the barrier, they saw Grand Chariot passing in front of them with great speed directly heading towards their fellow assassin. Mein looked like she was already locking her target, but they still had to reunite the others.

"I'll go help Leone, help Akame!" Night Raid's leader said, as she headed towards their fallen comrades.

"Roger that!"

He focused on his strings, feeling Ran closer and closer. He would arrive in 20 seconds, so Lubbock had less than ten seconds to find Akame. With Mein distracting Grand Chariot, he could luckily focus on that task.

Unless she had an anxiety attack in the middle of the battle. Which was exactly what was happening!

Lubbock quickly used his wires to envelop Wave, who seemed to have doubted at the very last second.

" Get out of here, Incursio rip off!" He yelled while using all his strength to drag him out.

Even if Lubbock tried his best, the sheer power of Grand Chariot was too much for him. Wave quickly broke the wires by force and turned around to face him. But there was something strange on his armor.

A gooey red liquid covered his armor, moving like a amoeba around Wave trying to find an opening. It seemed he didn't notice, or just didn't find it threatening.

15 seconds, until Ran arrived and they had the numbers against them. However, there was still that trump card. If that goo-girl was the same teigu as that helldog, it meant it could change sizes and go overdrive.

How the hell could he do that? The only one who knew was Seryu herself, and her mind is long gone.

"Seryu, do something for the love of whatever's mighty!"

It was well intended, but the mass of goo plummeted to the ground as soon as it heard Lubbock's voice, probably in fear.

Before he had the chance to hate himself, Susanoo had enough time to regenerate and charged Wave. But right now, Grand Chariot was quicker than him.

He used his wires to stop and wrap him, and then…

A loud noise filled the battlefield as Susanoo contacted directly with Wave's head, making him lose consciousness. He fell into the ground, losing his armor in the process.

A pair of feathers stopped Susanoo from destroying Grand Chariot, and the organic teigu backed out. The assassin quickly grabbed Najenda, and protected Leone from another shower of feathers.

Ran had reached the battle right on time, and threw a barrage at the unprotected Lubbock.

"Fuck!"

His wires danced crazily in front of him, before somebody made him back off from the fight. A few feathers graced him, but nothing too serious.

"Akame!"

Lubbock quickly turned around and grabbed Akame by the waist, and used his strings to get closer to Mein. The girl suddenly stuck to him, hyperventilating. Whatever she was thinking, it seemed she was horrified by it.

Akame slashed a few more feathers, before Lubbock used his teigu to jump towards a cliff.

"Where's Su?!" The green haired assassin said, too overburdened by the two girls. He wasn't strong enough to carry them.

"He has Najenda and Leone. They're also retreati- Esdese!"

A bridge of ice appeared out of nowhere, but before any of them could inspect it thoughtfully, Lubbock already jumped into the deep forest.

"You two are too heavy!"

He could easily bring one companion, but both Akame and Mein were too much to move at a great speed. Plus, he didn't have the physique of Bulat, so he didn't have enough space for both of them.

"Release me. If we stick together we'll be an easy target." Akame said, as she briefly struggled to break free.

She jumped off at a great speed, even faster than Lubbock and disappeared on the thickness of the forest.

"Wait! Shit, she's gone."

Now they could go much faster, but without the knowledge of his wires, Akame could be heading straight into death. But he should be caring more about himself, because he had to protect Mein at the very least.

"Don't touch me..." She was still mumbling in fear, still in the depths of the her breakdown.

"Come on, you're safe! Don't you feel the wind?!"

He knew Ran was gaining on them. He was much faster on air, but he had no means to see them below the trees. Should he take the chances to stop, and let Mein calm for a second?

He wasn't a damn psychologist, what was he supposed to do? Tell her that everything's fine, and lie? Everything had went wrong.

_"If we get caught, I'll throw her teigu away. Esdese might kill us both, but I won't let her get our teigus. That bitch will see what happens when you fuck with the strings of fate!"_

"A-Are we fleeing?!" She suddenly spoke up, probably after getting smacked by one of the branches or leaves.

"Oh, great! You're back?" Lubbock made his best to dodge the trees, but he couldn't avoid the small targets.

"I think... I think I..."

"It was probably a panic attack. It's nothing to be ashamed of. I got one when this kind of slug jumped at my feet. It was disgusting, even more when I realized that slugs don't jump." He tried to calm her down, but she didn't want none of that.

"Shut up, it's not the time for that! What's happening?!" She was definitely trying to go back to her previous self, way quicker than Lubbock expected.

"Esdese might have been much more pressured to act than we thought." He hastily said.

"What do you mean? Did she really risk it sending all the Jaegers to one position?"

"I think there might be something that pushed her into a corner but I just don't see how that could happen. She basically does whatever she wants or, maybe she wanted to prove herself. Whatever it was, we're pretty much fucked over here."

"So we failed...?" She lost a bit of her spirit after that.

"Yes, but... we took care of most of those puppet things. We learnt how to take care of Grand Chariot, and we've seen who is the weakest Jaeger. Maybe this is a tactical loss, but we won strategically."

"I shot Bols' teigu too. I think… maybe..." She wasn't sure about it, but she wanted to be positive.

"_I shot pretty much everything."_

"See? Everything's great. I'm going to do a 90° degree turn."

"Wha- AHH!" She yelled in shock, as all her blood was suddenly jerked back from her body.

"SHH! They might be on top of us!"

"Don't scare me then asshole!"

"You don't need to insult me..."

A few minutes later, they stopped and hid against some trees. They were going fast, but Lubbock couldn't avoid so many logs and trees without getting tired. Besides, it didn't seem like they were getting chased. Did the others get lucky too?

Esdese had been chasing them but after Akame decided to go on her own, the general might have switched targets.

"My hands are burning. I've never done this for so long and with extra weight..." He removed his gloves, revealing his swollen hands.

"Pumpkin weighs a lot more than it looks. Last time, I almost drowned because of it." Mein sat down next to him, searching her surroundings.

"When did that happen? We haven't had any missions near the sea." He raised his hands above his head, trying to improve the blood circulation.

"It was in a pool of disgusting goo." She answered emotionless.

"...Like my hands? I'm sure they'll turn into goo too." He said, as if backing out of a minefield.

"Yes, exactly like that. Where is that oobleck thing, by the way?"

"Oh, goo-girl? I call her Chimera. And uh... Maybe I forgot about her. What? Don't look at me like that, Leone is the one who takes care of that thing!"

"Will she be alright?" Mein asked, concerned.

"Huh? I didn't think you'd care for that thing. I'm sure it's alive. I mean, Leone told her what to do if th-"

"I meant Leone, you moron! She was… on the ground last time I saw her." She snapped again.

"I don't know what happened, but someone like her wouldn't go down so easily." He looked at his hands again, and put on his gloves and teigu.

"I tried to help but I ended up losing my nerves… I do- Mmph?!" Lubbock suddenly covered her mouth, and lifted her using his threads towards the treetops.

Just after doing that, he jumped in the other direction, also hiding himself among the leaves and branches of the forest.

Just as he had put on his teigu, he felt somebody in the vicinity. Whoever it was, that person was close enough to hear their conversation. Maybe they had thought of setting up an ambush, and that's why the enemy didn't act.

It wasn't the time to fight, but to hide and run.

Lubbock used his strings to shake all the nearby trees, to make it harder for the enemy to realize where they were at. After that, he held his breath and prayed that the few glimmers of hope hadn't left them.

"Motherfucker…" He muttered just as he realized one critical thing.

Due to his sudden actions, it seemed that Mein had left her teigu on the ground. He cursed under his breath, seeing that it had been his fault.

He didn't act, hoping that their pursuer didn't notice it. If it was Esdese, moving would mean death. If it was Ran, they had a chance.

But that chance of death was enough to persuade him to not do anything. So that's exactly when he freaked out when he saw Mein gently falling on the ground, and grabbing her teigu like it was a common occurrence.

"You scared the hell out of me! It was Su, not Esdese!" She yelled on his direction.

He felt very stupid for a moment, but he also descended to ground level. It was exactly as Chelsea said, he relied too much on his teigu.

Susanoo appeared from the shadows, carrying both Najenda and Leone.

"We should keep moving." Najenda said, as she looked at both of them. "Where's Akame?"

"She wanted to distract Esdese from our tail, so we got separated. I guess it worked, because nobody is following us." Lubbock quickly explained. "Is Leone…?"

"I can't feel my everything, but I'm fine." Leone answered, not moving an inch of her body.

"Ran was chasing us, but we lost him after zigzagging around and hiding. He might still be on pursuit." Najenda said, jumping down from Susanoo.

"Why aren't the others following us? Did they stay behind to help... sailor guy?" Mein said, without maintaining eye contact.

"We left goo-girl back there. Hopefully she's doing something." Leone said as she struggled to move. "This is going to be a permanent stiff neck, isn't it?"

"What about Akame? I'm still fresh, I can find her in no time." Lubbock lied, as he squeezed his hands.

"She can take care of herself. We're still in danger here and we've had enough damage already." The boss said, pointing at Leone.

"Sorry…" Mein auto-apologized, resigning herself.

"You don't have anything to apologize for. Right now we have to focus on our next mission. We'll talk later."

They started retreating, as it started to rain. Akame was lost, but she'd turn up eventually, they hoped.

But even if she reappeared, Mein knew that they had lost one assassin. Herself.

What good was an assassin that could have a panic attack in the middle of the fight? If she had controlled herself better, she knew that Pumpkin wouldn't have overheated and then, she'd probably would have killed Bols. But instead, she only was able to hit his teigu with a weak beam.

She had to regain her confidence before the battle against Bolic, the spy of the Empire sent to the Path of Peace, but how could she do that? There was nothing that would prevent an anxiety attack. Her skills and abilities were untouched, it was everything on her head.

And her head affected her body too...

But she had hope. She wasn't alone and she wouldn't give up just because a few bad memories. Even if they made her sank to the sea… there was a future ahead.

Because in a stormy sea, if you sink all the way down, the bottom of the sea might be… perhaps unexpectedly, gently standing still.

* * *

**I love the ending. I'm too tired to write this, but I'll say this.**

**I'M FINALLY ABLE TO WRITE WHAT I WANTED! Next chapter, I'll end this arc and that means that my hype will be off the charts!**

**Next chapter shit gets real! It's called; _The sparks of the Rebellion!_**

**As always, I love you all. Please, say whatever you want on the reviews. I'm tired, but but I still have energy to give you my deepest gratitutes.**


	26. A Spectre is haunting the Empire

**Seventh of July! It's Tanabata! **

**I drew a new cover for the fic, in particular for this next arc! I know, I'm not very good... but IT'S SOMETHING ORIGINAL kinda. I've not even finished painting it, but honestly, that's too hard to me.**

* * *

**White Death Arc**

_A spectre is haunting the Empire..._

* * *

"Dying….Dying… I-I'm melting…!"

It feels like I passed out for months, but barely five seconds have passed. We had been attacked by bandits, and then my sword disappeared. I found it, but there was this girl and… That girl!

That girl has obliterated my whole pride…! My legs are hurting from the pain! How does that work?! AHAGGAHGA!

I laid down there for a few seconds, trying to bear with the pain. I don't want to be kicked in the nuts ever again. That girl could have easily killed me afterwards… Thank god she was scared.

Breathe in, breathe out. It's perfectly fine. Doesn't hurt at all.

Once the pain was more bearable (I didn't want to puke anymore), I got up from the ground with my wobbly legs. This feels like it will hurt for at least an hour. The pain was so intense that I didn't notice the blood that was dripping from my hand. I removed the object that had pierced it, and gave it a quick look.

A butterfly? No, it's a hairpin that looks like a butterfly. I guess it's something girls like? Sayo had one of these too. It must be from that Revolution girl from before.

Oh, well. There's a fight right behind me and that's more important that wherever the pin came from.

It was hard to walk after being kicked right in my most important area, but I had managed to steadily go towards the sounds of battle. I couldn't really grasp the situation, but some gears started turning on my head.

If the Revolution has been right behind us this whole time, it means that they were searching something. All that merchant told us was that he was selling silk and velvets, and I checked partially that convoy. Which means that either that guy is smuggling guns or something, or the Revolution is just very incompetent.

I wasn't paying much attention, but I had already reached the convoy I was supposed to protect. Damn, there are lots of bandits.

Well, maybe I exaggerated a bit. They have at least twice the numbers, but we were twenty-something. In any case, I am here and I can handle this quickly.

The bandits took advantage of my careless analysis and decided to attack me. I hope they're kind and realize that I'm in a pretty deep thoughtful state.

"Maybe they were following me? No, I have-" I sidestepped as a bandit rushed at me, and slashed his back easily. "Been very careful."

I was expecting an answer from Seryu, but she didn't say a word. She disappears when I sleep, so I guess it's normal.

Another bandit lunged at me, this time with a heavy battleaxe. It didn't take me much as I dodged the slow weapon, and slashed his neck right between his light armor.

My soldiers weren't exactly struggling, but they were… well, very bad at the whole 'killing' part. Maybe it was because we had been ambushed, but I was hoping to not do everything myself.

Anyways, I have to admit it. The Imperial Army sucks a lot of balls. It's not my fault they're mostly conscripts.

There were many bandits dead. I also noticed some wounded in my party, but I couldn't confirm if they were dead or not.

I don't have time for this. If the Revolution really wants our head, then we better hurry. I was only able to kill one scout and the other escaped. If that girl requests help then we're fucked.

Let's see… there are twelve bandits here. Sadly for them, I haven't been training to only pass the time. I mean, I have, but that's besides the point.

I got serious, and used my superior speed to attack each bandit that was in this small area. The last one noticed a bit too late. I heard the first one fall to the ground, and the others followed quickly.

Huh. That was too easy. If they had some armor, maybe this would have been more challenging.

Nice, no blood droplets on my white jacket.

"There are no more bandits here, right? Let's relief the others." I turned around as I looked at my soldiers, and advanced once again towards the front of the convoy.

Everyone had already seen what I was capable of doing on the Red District, and on our usual trainings. However, it seemed that there was something bothering them.

"Capt'n, wh-"One of them stood up to me, but I quickly ignored him.

"Not now. Where's that merchant?" I asked the same soldier, as the others rushed to help on the front.

"He was on the first wagon before the attack. Should I…?" He passively offered his help, but I had something to talk with that ugly merchant.

"It's fine, there are more lives at stake." The armored man seemed older than me, which could mean why he was so hesitant of my command. "Take your squad and attend the wounded. I'll protect the rest." I also had to talk with that merchant, so I couldn't let him die. Besides, this is still a mission.

"...Yes, sir."

Before I forget, we should capture one of these bandits. I want to know how they got to us. I used this route because it was supposed to be safe. Does the Revolution use bandits?

...I could really use some second thoughts, Seryu.

Damn it, why doesn't she appear when I want to? It's not like it would change anything, because she's technically me. But I don't want to think! It's much better to think with someone!

Let's see, I haven't done anything to deserve the Revolution's attention, so they're not after me. It means that they were after the merchant or the cargo. So, obviously I have to… Whatever, I'll just follow my senses.

I watched how my soldiers feebly held back the bandits, who were trying to flank the convoy. There are at least twenty here and… Oh, there are archers behind them. Those guys shot at me, and I should probably kill them before they cause a mess.

I dashed through the battle, heading towards the five archers standing behind lines. They were barely able to react as I killed two of them by slitting their throats. One tried to stab me with some small dagger, but I effortlessly disarmed him and pierced his eye with his own weapon. The other two archers were smart enough to realize I was in another level, and tried to escape.

I should only capture someone who knows why they're attacking, but I don't have time to distinguish who's the leader.

I threw the same small dagger towards one bandit, hitting him on the knee and making him unable to move. I considered leaving the other one flee, but I couldn't risk it with reinforcements. I sighed and rushed once again against the fleeing bandit. It was over before he even realized.

Four down and a prisoner in what, seven seconds?

I turned around and saw that the bandits had noticed my little fight, and quickly lost their will to fight. My underlings were more looking at me as if I had been too late.

"Do I have to do everything too?" This was annoying. They literally can't do anything. Will I have to train them like I did way back with my platoon? At least they did some good in the Red District.

Man, when I finally overthrow the Empire, I want to change all these names. It felt way better when a captain was called centurion, and when there were legions around. I wonder what made them change those names? Maybe the civil war three hundred years ago.

I looked at my jacket again and charged in. Right when I killed another outlaw, all the other crooks panicked. Perhaps they noticed the lack of arrows in the air, or I just scared them.

"Great! pur-" I wanted to say 'pursue them' but my soldiers looked so tired and demoralized that I wanted to cry.

Come on, how many did I lose? I had 24 soldiers and now there are… uh… Fourteen here plus the other four attending the wounded…

Oh great, six casualties. Don't tell me they are dead? This bandits were a piece of cake. I'm kind of ashamed, but I can't forget they've never fought seriously before. I assume that because I've never seen their faces before.

I should have used my original platoon, and this wouldn't have happened. They had the experience from the Red District, that insurrection from the Blacksmith District, plus some training from me. I'm not sure if I'll be able to stop the civil war, so they must get some real combat experience too.

"Don't calm down yet. We're not going to stay here much longer." I said, pretty much aborting this whole fiasco of a mission.

"I left that bandit injured , didn't I?" I muttered, while going back to capture the guy I immobilised with that dagger.

Maybe I should have said some encouraging words. Though I have something else on mind.

I walked back a few meters, looking through all the dead corpses around. He should be right around here. That knife is still piercing his knee. It was a damn good throw! Honestly I was just aiming in his general direction.

"Hello!" I greeted him and removed the dagger from his leg, making him yell in pain.

"D-Don't kill me! I-I don't want to die!" He sobbed and cried like a small child.

Oh gee, it's like he hasn't killed anyone tonight!

"After you attacked _my _soldiers, I don't think I should listen to you."

I looked back at the convoy and all the soldiers. My comrades were either helping each other, or just too shocked to see what I was doing.

"So, come on. How did you find the convoy. Nobody knew the route besides me and… Uhh, see that guy bleeding to death over there? He knew , I wonder, why that's happening?" I think I don't get angry easily. The only time I really lost my marbles was with Dorothea, but that was another level. Even then, I think I can be somewhat intimidating.

Unless I have the zipper down. Which it isn't.

"I don't know! I just follow the orders!" He sounded pretty honest.

True, true. Footsoldiers don't know why they do half of the stuff. But he's not a soldier.

"And how did your boss know, eh? Was it the Revolution? Did the Empire backstab us? Or was it a lame attempt at killing that merchant, trader, whatever he is?"

I think I shouldn't have mentioned the Empire, because that was actually a small concern I had. It's not like the Empire wanted to kill me or anything.

"What? I don't…" Oh my god, no.

I kneeled down and forced his eyelid opened, hovering the menacing dagger over his exposed eye. He immediately stopped moving as I did that.

"You can guess what will happen if you keep telling me you don't know. Why were you attacking us?"

"The boss told us this was a trade off! Somebody came and gave us the route! There was nothing else! There was no reason!" The bandit stuttered to get his words out, watching how he was a few words from being blind.

"Right. So you go around killing people for no reason. I'm glad we got that one out of the way. I really should have thought more questions, but, will you kindly tell me who was this person who informed your boss?" I didn't know how my soldiers would react. Maybe they'll beat him to a pulp, or perhaps they'll let him live.

In any case, the soldiers looked tense because my actions. Or maybe because he was a bandit who had attacked us unscrupulously.

"S-She was from the Revolution, yes! I hate those guys like everyone! I'm with you guys! I won't be a bandit anymore, I swear!" I was positive he was making that up, but I just rolled with it.

"At least the Revolution has ideals, unlike you. They should put those ideals to the test though, and not pretend they're using them. After all we are protecting the citizens of the Empire from people like you." I let go of the bandit and dropped the knife.

"If they really intend to defend the people, well, they're doing an awful job at it. They're not the ones actively fighting robbers, gangsters, the mafia… the army… And on top of all that, they'll start a civil war because they're too dense to see another way. Because killing thousands of people is the best way."

It's not like they had a choice. It's almost impossible to take down the Empire from the inside, but that's just because they've already failed. I haven't, and I will fight for it even if a civil war starts.

"Ahh… Should I kill you? It's not like it'd matter since your other friends already fled." I stretched myself before turning around and returning to the convoy, leaving this guy to die or run away, if he could.

Then somebody from the Revolution did want to attack us. Either it was a ploy to get my sword, or they wanted something from the convoy. No, if the bandits hadn't attacked us I wouldn't have noticed my sword was gone, so it was has to do with the convoy.

"C-Captain." I snapped out of my state and noticed a soldier shyly approaching me. "The merchant is unharmed."

I nodded and lazily looked at the man we were supposing to escort. At first glance, he wasn't much different than any normal citizen. He wasn't tall or too overweight, and he certainly didn't seem to be earning that much. Honestly, he _looked _pretty shocked about the attack.

"Good, but we have to move immediately. There were scouts or spies from the Revolution, and I'm not gambling another ambush. Use the convoy to transport the wounded, we're going back to the Capital." I quickly said, not wanting to risk the destruction of a whole platoon.

The merchant got stirred up as I said that, obviously not liking that we would return, and gathered enough courage to walk forwards and face me with a very troubled look. However, he couldn't muster enough valor to talk.

"What is it? Surely, you must have no problem to let me do this?" I wasn't trying to be friendly, but I didn't plan to sound so lousy.

He took a deep breath before yelling at me.

"Return?! The trade post is barely two days from here! The bandits won't caught up with us and I'm sure there are outpost out there to help everyone!" He was trying to sound like he meant it, but all he wanted was to leave this place with his life and money.

"The army may be controlled by corrupted people, but I don't answer to criminals." I said, getting the attention of almost everyone.

"H-Huh? What are you talking about?" Obviously, merchant guy wasn't waiting for that kind of answer.

"There's only one explanation to why the Revolution was here, and that's because they lack weapons. Weapons you must be smuggling." I even pointed at him, exactly like a famous attorney. "Now, search the con-"

Search the convoy, I was going to say. But everyone, including my soldiers looked at me like _I _was the criminal here.

I suddenly remembered why.

The soldiers don't trust me because I've been pretty much anywhere but with them, walking out of the palace, managed to wreck half a district searching for Dorothea, and left them alone in a mission while I went to kill Stylish and I'm sure lot's of other stupid shit. The worst thing is that they're not wrong, and that pisses me off even more. They don't trust my judgement? Well, they're going to see that I'm still the one who's in charge.

Clenching my fist, I walked at a swift pace towards one of the carriages, pushing out of the way the damn merchant who was on my way. I could hearing yelling to me, but I was clouded on my own anger to realize what he was saying.

Alright, let's see. I should at least look for any kind of smuggler tactic.

There was a long cloth covering the whole carriage, so I removed it. It's a cart made of wood, pretty nice wood. And there are sacks of… things. That's some beautiful velvet too. I kneeled down and noticed that the thickness of the cart didn't add up if you compared it from the inside.

I'm just going to break the plywood.

"Stop! Stop that right now! You guys, stop them!" That merchant was really trying to put them against me.

Well, they know how scary I am while fighting, so they won't do it. This must have been why Seryu didn't mind all those voices that talked about her. It was just that, background sounds.

I jumped in the cart and used my sword to break the floorboard. I don't know much, but if there's some sort of double layer or a cubbyhole around here, that'd be great.

I applied too much force, sending flying chunks of woods everywhere. I covered my eyes for a moment, unconsciously before grinning like a damn maniac.

What the hell, there must be at least a dozen in this cart…

It was some kind of firearm, like a pistol on steroids. I thought of those automatic rifles some corps have, but these were larger and didn't seem to have the same fire-rate… It had those bolts, or whatever they're called, where you have to open and close the barrel, but I didn't know much more.

I grabbed one of them and got out of the cart. It's kind of heavy.

Right as I stepped out of the cart, I couldn't help but to take advantage of the situation.

"What's…?"

The ten or so soldiers that weren't doing anything at all were looking in awe, as if I was some kind of magician. I think they all thought: 'Holy shit, this guy is actually not that crazy!'.

The merchant tried to defend himself, but I quickly closed distance with him and buttstroke him with the rifle, before pinning him down with my leg and pointing the large gun at him.

"What the hell is this? Happy-sticks? There are at least twenty of this on that cart alone."

The soldiers around me seemed to pick up what I was saying, as they suddenly started moving towards the other three carts around.

Now we're getting somewhere.

"I don't know! I seriously don't know." The merchant yelled, awfully worried.

And so was I, as the guy didn't seem to be lying at all. Did he really not know? No matter, I have to use this to unite them under me.

"The Empire uses hidden factories to create this weapons. How did you get them? Did you steal them?" I asked question after question, as I looked at the terrified look of the merchant.

This was all too odd, but I had no reason to refuse these strange happenings.

"I'm not a traitor, I swear! I'm innocent! I-I'll sing the hymn, the battle hymn, whatever you want!"

We have hymns?

"Oh no, I see. The Revolution was after this and the bandits must have been a distraction to get these guns. Arms trading is a very serious crime. What do you think my friends will think once they realize their partners died defending a smuggler?" I was making it up as I spoke, but I had a clear objective in mind...

The poor trader was speechless. He didn't have a defence for this. He mustn't have expected any of this.

"Captain! There were rifles here too!" One of my soldiers ran up to me, rifle in hand.

"We found a lot of gunpowder. The good one, the one that doesn't make smoke. Enough to make us all meet the Creator." Another one said, removing his helmet. His expression was one of fatigue, failing to grasp what was happening right now.

I looked down on the merchant, and removed my foot from his chest. I kneeled down next to him, making sure I could face my comrades in arms.

"We're going back to the Capital. Our duty is to protect the innocent and weak. Sadly, you're not one of those." I said as I removed my feet from the merchant, turning my back against my soldiers.

The passivity my underlings had a few minutes ago had disappeared, as they weren't too dumb to realize that their good soldiers were dying because they had to defend a smuggler, someone that should be thrown into jail.

The merchant looked at them before panicking and hyperventilate.

"I swear I didn't do it! It was… Ehh… Kuki! No, eh… Koukei! That's right, Koukei!" He started yelling, as if he had made up the name on the spot.

He must have thrown the name of someone important to feign innocence and the whole 'He made me do it, thus I'm not evil.' excuse.

"The minister?" I heard the soldiers behind me mutter, in a somewhat contained rage.

"Minister of what?" One of them said.

"Military affairs, pretty sure." Another one said, whose name escaped my mind.

When I meant an important figure, I didn't mean someone so important!

"Does that sound believable, guys?" I asked them, as I didn't really know much. "Don't be afraid to speak up, it's between us."

Everyone was afraid of badmouthing the Empire. Of course, we were the Empire, so...

"That'd be my go-to guy if I wanted to get out of this situation. A lame excuse!" One of them said.

"It's like saying that you're eating chickens because the wolf made you do it. The wolf wants the chickens for himself. Also, fuck the minister. Increase my salary already you fuckwit."

"Yeah, we're in the expendable army and he gives us all this crap. Like, I want to be with Esdese. That woman treats her soldiers great."

"Some real eyecandy too. Two in fact!"

Why am I feeling so embarrassed about that? I mean, it doesn't feel right that they're talking about her… It's not like I'm disagreeing but let's get back into topic!

"Guys, no. So… come on. We need to get out of here and sent this man to jail."

* * *

Obviously we didn't finish the mission. Seeing that this guy was a smuggler, or maybe he wasn't, I decided to go back and return to Esdese as soon as possible.

The merchant, whose fate elludes me, was thrown into jail and I don't know if he'll ever get a trial. As for the materials and guns we got… well, I'm keeping them. I mean, there's no need to return them to whoever owns them. I'll certainly will use those forty rifles way better than whoever needed them.

I still have no clue if the Revolution was really after the guns or myself, but I don't need to check it right now because I have more important matters.

I visited my right-hand man, Egu, in case anything had happened while I was gone, and I told him about the guns we got. I can trust him enough to tell him that.

Apparently the Jaegers were deployed somewhere… but they've already returned.

After telling my soldiers to not act any different, I headed towards the palace, determined to meet with Esdese and demonstrate her I was going to be a fine general.

* * *

I entered the palace, only to notice a strange sensation in my body.

This is weird... There's certainly something in the air, like a virus or something. I'm not sick anymore, and I'd say everything is going pretty neato for me. Except being kicked in the nuts, of course.

I should keep going forward.

"Maybe I should see if Dorothy is dead." I muttered to myself.

Meh, I'm not in the mood to talk with that girl. Besides, if she's dead, I don't want to be the one to find her. I don't exactly know how rotting bodies smell, and I don't want to know.

She smells like cough syrup either way so... I prefer to be with Esdese. In fact, I should go with her. She'll want to know why I've returned soon, and I bet she'll love to be the first one to know.

Or not, but we can test it right now.

I walked once again, trying to find my way in this damn palace of endless corridors. It didn't seem like nothing had changed yet, so I quickly found a known corridor.

This is way too quiet. I usually have voices in my head and now it's way too relaxing for me. Trying to keep my guard up when there's no tension it's starting to get stressful. Or maybe it's the fact I haven't slept in days. I am dying a lot.

Yeah… I'll just go back to my room, and sleep like a log. Who knows? Maybe Esdese is there.

Now that I think about it, what does she do in here? Like… She must have some hobby that isn't torturing people. I guess I could ask after I sleep.

Yes, sleep.

…

Wait, we haven't reached the bedroom yet. Don't give up on me body, not yet.

I can see the door to the bedroom! Keep going, keep going! We need to count down the steps needed to reach the door! We need at least like… fifty!

I didn't notice how I was walking at a faster pace than usual, but that didn't bother me. I would get more tired, if I wasn't exhausted already.

I held back the urge to kick the door down, and swiftly opened the door to the bedroom. Then, I spotted it, that lovely bed!

There you are, fluffy bastard! I'm going to sleep all over you!

"Tatsumi? What are you doing here?" I noticed Esdese making a very weird expression, as if I had caught her stealing cookies.

She was looking out of the window or something, because she was standing there like… well, I don't know why.

However, I was way too tired to make any conversation, and I just plummeted to the bed, hoping that it would take me away soon. I could smell a faint perfume scent in the sheets, along with the soothing feeling that enveloped me and…

Sleep…

Oh, right. I should say why I'm here before she bothers me.

"Merchant was a gunrunner. I obviously had to go back, and deliver justice and yadda, yadda…"

I was hearing her talking to me, but I wasn't really listening. Something about organic food and teigus. Hell if I know what that means. What's she saying about girls?

The bed is telling me I shouldn't listen to her. When's the last time a bed has been wrong? You're the only one who knows what I like, bed! Sleeping thoroughly through the night…

…

Who's poking my cheek?

"What…?"

"You're not answering at all." Esdese said, perhaps not noticing that I was really trying to sleep.

"Right…"

No, no, bed. Don't worry, she's just a friend, not your love rival. Let me cuddle some more…

"I thought you'd answer with more emotion. Maybe you've changed more than I thought?" She was speaking to herself, but I'm so tired…!

She must have said something important and I wasn't listening.

"Yes, now I am become numb, the destroyer of emoti- Stop that! H-Hey!"

Why is she snucking her hand through my shirt?!

I rolled on the bed and got up in some odd fighting position, trying to prevent… Well, I got scared! I was trying to sleep damn it!

"Hm. You haven't changed then. Were you listening to me?" She looked at me as if I had hidden her favourite plushie.

"A- Of course. I mean, why wouldn't I listen to you?" I was really debating if I should have included a 'My love!' but that'd be overkill!

"You're tired, so I'll let it slip. Next time I'll punish you, but this time I'll tell you once you're actually yourself." Esdese flipped her hair, telling me that the topic was over. "Since you're here, we'll be able to start much sooner than expected. Get up."

I groggily got up, and rubbed my eyes for a few seconds before facing her. I'm too tired for this.

"The Jaegers have been assigned to a new mission, on the east of…" It seemed that she learnt it by heart, almost like a robot.

She was talking, and talking… I could swear for a few moments that I was trying to keep up but I think after I blinked once, she was on a completely new topic.

No, no. I have to listen to this or she'll get mad.

Religion, eh… Protect somebody… Night Raid…? And some city called Kyoroch, probably where we're going. And, did I hear very hot weather? Hold up, we're going to a dessert or something?

"...that's what we'll be doing. You'll be doing something else." And there's the catch. I knew vacations were just too good to be true.

"Okay, I'll bite. What will I be doing?"

"Figure it out, I don't need to tell you everything." It was such a deceiving answer I knew that whatever I did would be the wrong answer.

Maybe she knows I haven't been listening.

"Great, so…" I wanted to say more, but it seemed that Esdese was troubled by something.

"Go meet the other Jaegers." Esdese looked at me sharply one last time, before I turned around and left the room.

Damn it, I was supposed to sleep. What's with her today?

In any case, the Jaegers next mission is important. It's a matter of stopping a civil war, which means I'll have to help fight the Revolution. I have to delay it as long as possible, but the odds don't look too promising.

I will not let the Revolution succeed in creating a civil war, no matter what, even if it means fighting Night Raid. However, if they see the errors of their way, we may be fighting together.

The Jaegers are outnumbered, and Night Raid is at full power. Besides, if it's a small town, Night Raid will have the advantage, since they'll be closer together. I guess they'll have eyes around the city which means I get to see Mein. Oh shit, I get to see Mein.

* * *

I somehow found where the Jaegers usually meet, but there was nobody to be found. The room was empty, although it seemed that somebody had been here recently.

I guess I'll wait here. I already slept here once so... Maybe I should try it again.

I sat down on one of the chairs and slowly leaned against the table until the dreams came to me.

…

_Oh, I'm dreaming… Nice..._

_I have a guitar? Well, I guess I'll play it. Let's see, I don't know any songs, but let's do some great music._

"_When I look around myself; What is it that I see?"_

"_Our leadership's incompetence, we live in poverty."_

"_And so to you, my closest friends, I ask just one pregunta."_

"_Who wants to join me in forming a military junta?"_

_Wow, nice! It rhymes and everything. Now, if I could just get rid of this feeling of _waTER GOING DOWN MY EARS!?

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"

My body jerked backwards, as I completely forgot where I had fallen asleep at. The chair couldn't resist all the strength I had used, and I fell along with it.

I unconsciously unsheathed my sword and tried to defend myself from whatever poured... whatever down my ear.

"Notthecoat!" I randomly cried as I hit my head against the wall, completely erasing the weird feeling from my ear.

That hurts! I almost knocked myself out from waking up (a bit) scared. What the hell happened anyways?

"That was pretty good." A robotic voice said not too far from me.

If my head is correct, that must be Kurome. I could open my eyes and see. Actually, I'm going to do that.

Yep, I'd recognize those glassy eyes anywhere.

"Did you pour water down my ear?" I moved my head to check if there was something inside, but it was fine. It wasn't wet or anything.

"No." I couldn't read her at all, so I just assumed she was lying. Freak.

I put away my sword as I noticed that Kurome didn't really care about me. She was sitting at the table, probably for quite some time already. I guess those cookies are top-tier.

This girl is odd, but now I that she's here, I should ask her some questions.

"So..."

"No." She promptly cut me off before I could continue.

Well that's definitely weird.

"What?"

"No." She wasn't even looking at me. She was staring at the entrance of the saloon.

I'm getting kind of creeped out. I don't need to talk to her, but I remember those things she said a while ago. Besides, I still have my Esdese protective shield.

Didn't I agree to not abuse of that power?

"What do you know?" She told me all those creepy things, as if she knew I had been involved with Night Raid and Stylish's death. Unless that was part of my craziness, I have to confirm it by confronting her.

"Me?" She didn't even look interested in me.

I hate one sided conversations.

"Like... You said those things some months ago. Very ambiguous stuff."

She focused her glare on me before lazily shrugging.

"I don't know."

Is she like some kind of super agent that has been trained to not let any kind of information to the enemy? Maybe... but even for her, she doesn't look too energetic.

"I see..."

I guess I won't get any answers... I shouldn't push her a lot.

I picked up the chair I had tipped over, and sat down once again. I don't really need to talk to Kurome anyways. It's better for me if she stays quiet.

... But after telling that to Wave, I guess I can't back off so soon. She'll slap me or something, nothing too important.

I hate myself sometimes.

"There must be something you care about, right?" I tried to provoke a response, as there's really no point to beat around the bush with her.

Tell me why you said those things. Come on!

She stopped eating her cookies and briefly looked at me.

"I don't care about you."

Oh.

Well… I mean...

Oh.

"It was a joke." She finished up another cookie and looked at the door, maybe hating me because I didn't get it.

That's not how jokes work!

"Ah...haha…?" I let out a confused laugh while trying to conceal how frustrated I was getting.

She's messing with me? Yes, that must be it. I can't force her to tell me what she knows, can I? Or maybe I don't know what to say… I'll have to wait for the right opportunity.

"...What was your name again?" She asked me with the same pokerface.

I could have answered, but for some reason I just decided to stare at her until she gave me a meaningful answer. Not my brightest idea.

No kidding, I don't know what I was trying since I had no way of beating her in this stare contest.

"Your sister has the same glare." I blurted out without thinking what the consequences would be.

I really shouldn't have said that.

I expected her to do something rash, but she didn't even wince. Maybe she was thinking why I knew that.

Oh shit, better say something else!

"She appeared when we… when I was fighting Zank. That katana of hers was just in front of me, but I was already losing consciousness. The last thing I saw were her eyes, so I guess they got stuck in my head."

That was a lie, of course. I mean, they do have the same glare but that was not when I saw it.

Why doesn't she answer? This is very awkward. My eyes are getting dry!

I was about to become stone, but luckily for me the door suddenly opened.

"Damn, that girl is annoy-" Wave stopped dead on his tracks as he saw that I was in the room along with Kurome.

"Who's annoying?" I asked him, who was definitely surprised by my appearance.

"Huh? You're back already?" He closed the door behind him, not looking back.

"Yeah… The merchant was a gunrunner. I couldn't let that slip so I returned and threw him into jail. Though we don't really have a jail." More like a guardroom.

I also was attacked by the Revolution, but we don't need to tell him that. I mean, I don't need to tell him that.

"A merchant? That's weird… Ah, right. Esdese told me you should meet with her as soon as you return."

He looked at Kurome as if trying to get some kind of ultra secret message to her, before turning to me with a content face.

"Huh? But we've already talked? Maybe she forgot something? I guess I'll go." I sighed while getting up from the chair.

"She should be in… Wait, you've already talked? Then don't go!" He walked up to me, as if I had done something wrong.

"What's wrong? Is Night Raid around or what?" I obviously was joking, but suddenly he got very gloomy.

"What? Oh, you want to know how our mission went?" He patted my back, making me sit down on the chair once again.

He almost threw me to the chair. What the hell, if you don't want me to leave just say it.

"I really don't want to know… Wait, a mission? You guys fought against Night Raid?" Now I got interested, even if his manners are very rude. Like Kurome's.

Gee, I have a lot of hate inside.

"Well, of course. It was… uh, indecisive, but we didn't lose anyone. We've gather a lot of intel about them though." He sat down in front of me, right beside Kurome.

Oh come on, the Jaegers didn't lose anyone?

"Did they lose anyone?" Like, I didn't care about most of them. But losing Mein was something I didn't want.

I mean, I didn't want to, but if it happened then it would suck a bit. Clearly, I don't have any ties. Zero ties. I'll accept the news with normality.

...

"I can't be certain about it… I'm sure I broke the neck of that golden lioness, but you can never be sure with them." He explained while nodding several times.

Nice, she isn't dead.

"He also made the classic tactical mistake of not doing a single intelligent thing." Kurome complimented his words, much to Wave's optimism.

"He doesn't need to know that…" He muttered while nudging her very subtly.

"He got destroyed by that organic teigu, because he can't even crouch down slightly." She continued.

Organic teigu, huh? I guess there's more than one.

"It was that wire-guy alright?!" Oh graceful lord! That guy is still alive! Do you comprehend my hate now, Wave? "I would have gotten that sniper too if it wasn't for him!"

And my sudden cheers for Wave completely went to the trash as I got a very uncomfortable. It's like two people you know are fighting and you can't decide who you should support.

Nah, obviously Mein. Like, I don't even know Wave.

"_Oooh, my little sweetpea! I would have loved your reaction if he did actually kill her!" _

Oh great, she's back. At least it's not like yesterday with her damn kinky stuff. She wouldn't shut her mouth about them.

"Well, I find it hilarious and all that, but how did you guys get them? I don't think they're stupid enough to face you all head on." I get why Kurome teases him sometimes, but I just can't stand it.

"Oh, they aren't. They tried to divide us by putting two different targets, but Esdese was able to see right through it."

"Wow, how? Did she see a flaw or something?" I asked, though Wave's expression told me I wouldn't get a good answer.

"Don't tell her this but… I'm not sure if it was dumb luck or she really knew what she was doing. You should ask her yourself. I'm sure she'd gladly explain it to you." I couldn't tell if there was bitterness on that last sentence, but I nodded anyways.

"As long as she doesn't try to nibble my ears… Ehh, so nobody died. That's great, I guess."

That's not great. They have to kill each other or my plans won't work.

I need the Jaegers and Night Raid to kill each other. If Night Raid gets too strong, a civil war will happen. If the Jaegers get too strong, I won't be able to make a coup. Then…

Then I'll have to make sure that the balance is maintained. I don't care who I have to kill a Jaeger or an assassin to maintain it. The question is; will I be able to do that alone?

The weakest member of the Jaegers is Bols, and the weakest member of Night Raid is Mei… Well, I don't know who. In any case, I should have targets acquired just because.

How would I go around killing them is another thing we won't talk about. First, I need one last promotion and become a Major. That will be enough to get into the external core of the Army. If I can just get there, facing off the Jaegers and Night Raid will be inside my range.

However, I can't wait around. I need to act soon, or more lives will be wasted.

But that still leaves the problem of me having just one teigu. I need another teigu user, and nobody fits the description. Everyone is already on a faction. Everyone except…

"By the way, why were you so jumpy when you entered?" I asked Wave, who was looking at the door just like Kurome.

Who're they waiting for? Even with Esdese they aren't like that. Maybe it's someone dangerous. I'll have to be on guard too!

"You see, I was told to get an expert alchemist so…"

"Wavy, I came like you asked~!" I puked a little as I heard that voice once again.

Oh god, my throat is burning from all that stomach acid. Eugh!

I honestly should have expected Dorothea coming, but it's still not a pleasant surprise. At least things can't get any more awkward.

She happily entered the room, before stopping mid-step as she saw me.

I greeted the girl with the hopes of provoking a heart attack, but she was still healthy, or so she let us see. Maybe she can't die from disease? I wouldn't be surprised...

She was suddenly extremely passive as she looked at me, as if she had lost all the energy. She looked like a teddy bear ready to be hugged. Thankfully for me, I'm not moved by her attempts at being cute.

But that didn't mean it didn't affect the others.

"What's wrong? You have to tell us about how to disable that thing." Wave had noticed something was wrong, and looked at me briefly before turning to the alchemist.

I can't let her answer, just in case.

"Don't just stand there Dorothy, you can sit right beside me." I made a quick excuse for her, even if I didn't need to.

Did I just call her Dorothy outloud? Shit. It was just a freudian slip, I didn't mean to do it!

"That's right..." She muttered some other insult, but she was submissive and did as I told her.

She wasn't obeying me because she was scared of me, of course. If it wasn't for Esdese, we'd have probably killed each other weeks ago.

I really should have thought about letting her sit beside me though. I wonder if I could throw her out of the window? No, it'd be better if I just throw myself.

"...I could only bring this." Wave said as he pulled out some kind of small tube and handed it over to Dorothea.

There was some reddish goo inside, which reminded me of Sty-

"_Woah, it's me. Or part of me. Or part of Koro? That's way too complicated. Why don't you pour it all over Dorothea?"_

"Only this?" The alchemist said, annoyed by my mere presence.

"Yes... the rest is kind of, unwilling." Wave answered in a low voice.

"What?" I tried to make sense of the situation, but I couldn't do that without asking.

This must be the loads of goo that Stylish had in the lab, like the pool Mein and I fell on. But like I had no idea, Wave was kind enough to explain it to me.

"When we were fighting with Night Raid, the lioness threw this weird goo and shortly after, it literally became a demon girl and then melted on top of me. Grand Chariot protected me, and I had to fight wit-"

Surely, that's a mistake. Seryu's very dead. Yes, that was that horrible experiment Stylish and Dorothea made. That goo that _looked_ like Seryu, but it wasn't Seryu. I'm sure. I can't let that get to me.

Breathe in, breathe out. We've already got past that point.

I took a silent vow, and tried to continue as with a serene mind.

But what I saw… she wasn't a small child. It was an exact copy of her.

"Excuse me, but that sounds very ridiculous. Goo doesn't... I mean, if it's a little girl, I doubt it will make much of a difference." I tried my best to sound as ignorant as ever, and he agreed with me and answered.

"Well, yes. But that goo is like acid, so imagine if it touches your skin. We somehow managed to stall enough for the reinforcements and somehow the damn girl suddenly reappears. By the way Dorothea, that thing stays human as long as it wants." He looked at the alchemist but she avoided his glance.

"I see." My god, could you sound less sad? I'm not the one who tortured you!

Wave noticed her lack of emotion, completely different from a few moments ago. He could pretty much ruin everything if he interacts too much with Dorothea, so I'll need to put an end to it.

"So you captured it…? We should destroy as soon as possible right? It's too dangerous." I threw some excuse I had because I obviously didn't care.

"Ehh, yeah… So, what do you think Dorothea?" Wave straight up ignored me.

Shit, did he realize something?

"Why did you bring just a small piece? Like this it's unusable. The smaller it gets, the stupider it becomes. This doesn't even know how to move." She explained, glancing at me for a few seconds before I realized.

"Well, she didn't seem that smart." A shiver ran through my spine as soon as he said that.

I certainly felt like a billion needles going through my heart, but I stood strong against her. She just wants me to react, nothing else.

"Maybe she isn't supposed to be a child?" Wave's questions were genuine, but I wanted to slam the table and tell them who they were talking about.

"Of course she isn't a child." I muttered, trying to hold back.

We've been over this, we can talk about Seryu just fine. There's no need to be mad. These people aren't important.

"Is something wrong?" I heard Dorothea say with a nasty smile.

Seeing her cocky attitude, I did what I had to do. I simply poked her broken arm with, maybe excessive force. She instantly lost that temper for some reason. That can't hurt that much, eh?

"Are you going to answer my question or...?" Wave's words stopped me from trying to kill that girl.

She moved away from me, ever so slightly. I could always poke her broken arm again.

"O-Of course Wavy. I don't know why it has lost so much mass, but it should be an adult. Maybe that explains why she attacked you. She's just too stu- Isn't intelligent enough to comprehend the outside world."

She's really holding back all those insults. I would clap for such an attempt, but for some reason I don't feel like it.

Wait, what's with that name? Wavy?

"Don't call me that. You helped making it, right? Can't you destroy it too?"

Yes, please. Destroy it. I don't need my past running up to me.

"Helped? Well, I only helped a bit. I was mostly focused on other things. But if that's what you want, I'll try." Her voice still showed some restraint from saying something else, but I took notice of some other thing.

What the hell, why is she acting nice around him? Please Wave, you're better than this.

I should say something before it gets more disgusting.

"What were you doing with Stylish then? Hybrids?" I almost bit my tongue as I realized the Jaegers didn't know anything about Stylish's beasts and monsters. Even if they did, I wasn't supposed to know.

"It'd be great if you told us. Night Raid might have that info too." Wave supported me, even if he wanted other answers.

Dorothea didn't have to tell the truth, obviously. I'd had to get it on my own if that's the case. In any case, I want to know what she makes up, it can be pretty hilarious.

"...We were both trying to make a perfect being, but we have very different interpretations of it. He wanted the perfect combination between monster and human but me… It harder to explain... Have you heard of Cagliostro?!" She suddenly threw her arm out on the air, like those crazy kids that start running around naked.

"Uhh, yes, I have. What does that have to do with anything?" Wave said, trying to steer her back to the right track.

"Should I know who that Calimocho guy is?" I asked him.

"You haven't? Well, it's like… it's one of those myths that old people talk about. Apparently the Cagliostro guy was a servant of the First Emperor and according to the fable, he somehow invented alchemy and helped making the teigus. Obviously, that guy didn't exist." He explained to me.

So just another theory on who made the teigus. I prefer the one with the hellgates to Oblivion.

"Cagliostro was a girl and she _definitely_ existed!" Dorothea claimed once again, sounding more and more like a lunatic.

Maybe she's just had way too many painkillers.

"Whatever you say missy." I said while moving my chair back from her.

"...She joined the Emperor's court once he started to search the secret of immortality! I guess we know how that ended up. She couldn't achieve immortality either, but she worked around using… Well, I don't know how she did it. She somehow was immortal, okay? You're going to accept that fact."

She's tripping. She's definitely on drugs. She probably injected herself with three liters of morphine.

At the very least it looks like Wave isn't buying her story either.

"But I don't mean crappy immortality. The good kind of immortality. The one where they cut your head and you don't die."

So her immortality is the shitty one. Goes perfectly with her character.

"So… huh… What does that have to do with Stylish?" I looked at Wave, who seemed to be as lost as I was.

"Isn't that obvious? That's perfection to me. Being beautiful forever…! That'd be like a dream for me! And then if I ever got sick, I'd revive in another body which would be exactly the same." Her eye gleamed with excitement, overreacting a lot.

This is getting very confusing.

"Honestly, I don't know what you're talking about. Maybe you should go lay down somewhere." I tried to sound as compelling as possible. I knew she'd try to lie, but damn, that's pretty weird even for herself.

"I'm not lying! Cagliostro existed!"

I was actually starting to believe that what she was saying was genuine. Perhaps it's just because I only know her when she's an absolute horror, and seeing actual positive emotions on her is weird.

In any case, it was pretty much fantasy at this point. Wave was also taking everything with a pinch of salt. Even he could see that this was stupid.

"So, if she existed where is he right now? I mean, if she can't die she must be around here." I teased her, knowing already the answer.

Her face blushed in anger as she held back all the insults she wanted to tell me. The only reason she wasn't doing that was because of Wave, probably.

"The Empire locked her out. I'm sure of it! But she was the court calligrapher which means she must have books somewhere! If only I could have one then…!" When her anger turned into frustration, Wave spoke up.

"Well, then that means you weren't able to advance much in… that, right? As long as Night Raid can't do that, we'll be fine." He tried to comfort her but Dorothea sank into despair as she saw that she nobody really believed her.

There was nothing else to talk about, besides the goo. But, should I really ask about it? Maybe this could have strange consequences.

…

Of course I should.

"Let's go back with the important things. This goo thingy… where is the rest?" I pushed once again my question. I mean, I'm staying here for my own selfish reasons, not to hear the madness of that girl.

"_Maybe she has sepsis and the deliriums are getting stronger. Yaay! She's dying!" _

"That's a secret." Kurome suddenly reminded us that she was here, answering my question.

"It's not a secret. Esdese's probably figuring out what to do with that." Wave actually responded, much to Kurome's annoyance.

But Esdese didn't tell me anything. No, never mind that.

Letting things with Esdese is probably a bad sign. I mean, I'm with her every night and I don't think I'll last another month. I do have to be with her later, so if by some coincidence I can see… goo, it's not my problem.

No, I shouldn't care about that now. I can't be emotion driven or things will end up ugly. I have to focus on something important.

"Is there something else you want?" Dorothea said with that obnoxious voice of hers.

"Don't you want to wait for Esdese?" I said, already knowing the answer.

"No." Although Dorothea's answer was instant, it was obvious she wasn't well.

I don't think she's really here. Maybe she's really full of sedatives to the brim. It's in my interests to keep her alive… as a forceful ally. It's like she's a rebellious pet, nothing else. So, I take care of my things.

I nodded to myself as I got closer to her, getting into whisper range. Okay, we're going into awkward territory now.

"What hurts more, the arms or the eye? I can help a bit."

"I'm going now." She hastily got up, or at least as fast as her body let her.

Wow, she really doesn't want any help from humbly yours.

"_Haven't you learnt anything with Esdese? The girl is drowning. Just pull her out of the water and ask if she wants to help you. If she doesn't, let her drown again. Repeat that circle until she says yes."_

I looked away exactly when that voice talked again. It's scary to me… It' scary that somehow I find her words to make more and more sense as time goes by. That _can't _be good right?

But if I'm able to control Dorothea, that's a teigu user I'll have under me. That's at least two counting myself. The Jaegers have five and Night Raid… at least five too, maybe more. That'd be closer to my goal!

"_Come on, Tatsumi! You can be naughty too! I'll be cheering!" _

I don't know what she's expecting me to do. Tickle her to submission? Play tag or something and the winner takes all? I could just rip off her teigu, and give to someone else. But I don't know anyone who could be compatible with it.

"_No, no. She has to drown by herself. If you deliberately drown her, she'll never be truly loyal. By the way, if you don't stand up, I'll start screaming in three, two, one…"_

"I'll be going too. There's something I need to do." I said while getting up from the chair.

I followed Dorothea, who hissed something under her breath. Don't look at me like that.

"Wait, Esdese said-" Wave tried to stop me for some reason, but I had more important matters at hand.

"I've already told you. I've been with Esdese already. Just take this as a bathroom break!" That sounded way too ambiguous. Especially when I'm leaving with Dorotea.

Huh.

Please don't tell Esdese.

Realizing maybe a bit too late to retract what I said, I simply pushed Dorothea out of the room and closed it with a very loud slam.

I sighed loudly as I felt the coldness of the hallways once again. I seriously don't know how to make excuses.

"_You should just tell him you wanted a quickie. At least that only has one relatable meaning."_

Shut up, that's not what I meant! Besides, like Dorothea looks like a ragdoll, it'd be weird to...

"Stop with that smarmy attitude!" I blinked for a few moments before realizing that was Dorothea speaking.

Wow, she really has a different voice while talking with someone who isn't me. She sounded way cuter before.

"You were making some weird ramblings, so I figured out you were dying. Also, I like our gawky conversations." I feel so forced talking to her, that it's not even funny.

"Tsk, this isn't a game you f-" Dorothea yelped as I poked her broken arm once again.

She grimaced in pain and backed off as quickly as she could. It was a move so sudden that she tripped and fell to the ground. She can't even stand up for like, three seconds? Maybe she's actually dying.

"You've removed the cast you had in your left arm but it doesn't look like you're moving it. Did it really heal? You know what'll happen if it rottens, right? I would appreciate it if you didn't die." Mostly because I did all that shit with Esdese for a reason.

I extended my hand to help her, but she hastily refused and stood up on her own.

"I'm fine. Why don't you go meet your dead friend, huh? Leave me alone." I almost felt that one, nice try.

She's really trying to go away. Maybe she's actually dying and we can't have that one yet.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't want to talk to you. It'd be best if we could return to the whole killing each other part, but I can't do that right now." Because I'm beginning to set up everything.

"I'm literally scalded because of you. I don't know what are you trying, but it won't work." She said as she scratched her shoulder, leaving a red taint on her bandages.

"How are you still standing anyways?"

I don't actually know why I asked, but I did it anyways.

"I'm alchemist. I won't die by any kind of infection or disease." She actually answered with some reluctance.

"Right. But that doesn't mean you don't feel pain. Are you going to leave the rest of your life like that? So, how about this, you help me and… Well, you live a less painful life."

"Really funny, Tatsumi. My answer is obvious. Besides, you do know that you'd be dead by dawn if we really worked together, right?" I was a bit surprised that she was talking that much about this.

"Working together, right. No, I just need your teigu. Sadly, you're attached to it so…" Poor teigu.

She gave me a funny look before bursting out laughing.

Okay, that's weird. Did I say something wrong?

"Teigu he says! You're adorable! What the fuck do you think happened to my teigu after Icy queen got me, huh?! Hahahaha!" Her obnoxious laugh hurt even more as I didn't realize that. "I don't even have fangs anymore! Hahahaha!"

As she laughed her head off, I saw how she didn't have said teeth.

God… Goddammit. I'm so stupid! Why did I think that she would keep her teigu?! Agh, stupid, stupid! And here I was forcing myself to talk to her. Damn it. Then where would I get another teigu user? If I can't use Dorothea…

"_Dorothea is still useful anyways. Besides, teigus don't work on every person, right? If we can recover the teigu from Esdese, she'll be able to fight again."_

"Alright, shut up." Her laughter was getting annoying, but she immediately stopped as I once again poked her wounds.

Honestly, if I actually hit her, I don't think she'd get up from that. She looks as weak as a leaf.

"What the hell! Stop doing that!" She yelled as she backed off in pain.

"You don't know the urges I have to choke you right now. In any case, you might not have a teigu, but you still created that blob monster." My voice reflected the anger I was feeling as I committed to not lose control.

"Why do you care, it's a failed experiment. Doesn't know how to fight, doesn't remember anything and for some reason she's naked. I could have sworn I fixed that..." She said, as she leaned against the wall, trying to rest.

"Stop lying. When I saw her in the lab, she definitely remembered me. She couldn't talk, but she reached out to me… I know she was asking for help."

"...Huh?" Something perked up inside of her, giving me a bad omen.

"What? Not going to laugh your ass off? I don't know why she was with Night Raid, but she knows what's up. Why did you transfer her memories too? There was no reason for that. Why didn't you use it as a shell, and nothing else?" That makes me angry. Why do that too? If it was just a carcass, only her body, I could live with that. But why move her soul too?

She fidgeted around, as if there was something really wrong about it. She was thinking of something, but what? She was mumbling something, in god knows what language. Honestly, this was just pissing me off.

"Answer!"

"I need the bathroom!" She gripped her skirt as she almost dashed off in front of me. Luckily, I was keeping my guard up and I managed to grab her by the collar.

"Don't come up with those excuses." I twisted her around, making her face me.

Her face was so close now that it reminded me of some shameful experiences I had last month. However, now she didn't seem menacing and sadistic, more like… excited. Of happiness. Unlike that one time, now the roles were reversed.

Ah damn it. She's high or something like that.

"You damn junkie, answer!"

"I'm not a junkie! I've made a glorious achievement! Get the hell away from me!" She struggled to get away from me, but doing so just made her wounds bleed more. Looks like she needs a change of bandages.

"You know what, enough of this." I said as I pushed her against the wall behind her. "I don't care what you think about this, but don't imagine yourself free anymore. Do whatever you want, but you're not getting rid of me."

She didn't exactly hate me. She looked down on me like I was proof of her failure, with the same attitude of some parents ashamed of their children. I was that thing that reminded her that she wasn't perfect.

I guess aiming for absolute beauty and then this asshole completely ignores you, rebels and tries to kill you really leaves an ugly emotional wound on you. And I suppose that knowing she's like, a gajillion years old also counts.

"You're not really threatening." She said once again, as if holding all her reasons to not obey me on that.

Screw this, if words won't help, I'll actually threaten her.

"Okay. Fine, I'll be threatening." I stretched my hands for a moment before deciding what to do.

"...H-Hey, come on. I wasn't really serious." Maybe all that bravado was from the fact that she thought she was strong. But the thing is that she was still a broken toy, and she wouldn't be able to defend herself.

"_No, Tatsumi! She has to drown by herself, don't hurt her!"_

Agh, stop making sense! I'll just scare her a bit!

Dorothea _will _help me, whether she likes it or not.

* * *

**I've done it! I've finished this arc! Which means it's time for a new arc! It shouldn't be so melodramatic... It has _happy moments_. I know, big shock! And some fights brewing that cough cough...**

**I had to cut an scene with Esdese, (She barely was on this chapter because of that) and a confrontation between Kurome and Tatsumi which I'll save up.**

**I'm guessing you guys will be saying, _"but where is Seryu?"_ And I will answer with all my joy and merry, ;)**

**Next arc will be called: "Unholy Alliance."**

_"What? Because it will have religion, you damn bigo-"_

**No, no. I mean, somebody told me I was anti-religious, and I think it's beause I made the "More crossed than christianity" joke. That aside, I'm guessing most of you have already guessed, but if you haven't I won't say much. **

**Pretty hyped for this next arc. Probably because it will really start to diverge from the main story. Chelsea and Bols are alive, but it has been quite some time since somebody died. _Nobody is safe! _And Tatsumi already said that he would prevent at any costs a civil war...**

**Everyone, thank you very much for reading. I've finished my exams and I'm joyful! I'll end up this story once and for all! Hopefully with you all!**


	27. The Anti-Jaeger Pact

**It's done.**

**And there's a weird part.**

**Don't judge me.**

**I made a new cover art. Sorry.**

**FUCKING BEGIN ALREADY.**

* * *

**Unholy Alliance Arc**

_The Anti-Jaeger Pact _

* * *

A group of three scouts of the Revolution were talking around a campfire, deep into enemy territory.

Although the Revolution had pretty much the unofficial control of the south, there were random pockets of rebels all around the Empire. There had been an order for all these pockets to dismantle and gather in the south, a sign that the Empire was reaching its melting point

Normally, making it to the south would be easy, considering the sheer size of the Empire, sneaking around is easy. However, the Capital had somehow taken notice of this, and had been trying to hunt them one by one.

"Part of me wants the Revolution to start, but the thought of facing off teigu users is terrifying." One of the soldiers, a rookie, said.

"I wouldn't worry about that." A second one, the leader, answered. "I heard Night Raid got one or two of them already."

"Two? I heard only one. Whatever, good thing they're on our side. They're doing god's work with those Imperial dogs." The rookie sighed, mixed with happiness and fear.

"Please, we're not worthy of being targeted by the Jaegers. I would worry more about the… what was the name? You know, the groups of... Wolfpacks or something like that." The last scout spoke, looking at the dance of the fire.

"The what?" The rookie quickly lost interest in the teigus, and focused on his partner.

"The ones that are hunting isolated groups like ourselves. They appeared some weeks ago, but they have already taken out several groups... That's why we're scouting up ahead. Unless we suddenly cross by the most dangerous groups, we should be fine." The leader said, seeing the confusion on the trainee.

"I heard about it too. The incompetent ones are like sledgehammers, but I heard there's one that is like a surgical knife."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, imagine a melon. You grab the sledgehammer and break it in one go. Effective, but it's slow and you can dodge it. But the dangerous one cuts it into pieces, and then eats it. Try to escape while your arm is three meters behind you alongside your ears." The leader quickly explained.

"Damn dude. Then how do we distinguish it? I mean, I know it's metaphorical, but maybe there's a visible difference." The rookie seemed to have lost his fear, and was way more eager to ask questions.

"Well, I don't know. There's only rumors...But I heard about this spy on the capital, who survived an encounter with them. She was attacked by her leader or something I believe, way before the wolfpacks started. I heard that he's a soldier in white clothing."

"Isn't that a book? The winter soldier, no?"

"Who? No, that's completely unrelated. Like a white jacket or coat. In any case, it's not like you'll be able to see it. All you see is a white blur. Like, when snow falls from the rooftop and hits your head. And the soldiers under him aren't something to laugh at either."

"Wait, wait. Wasn't the one in charge of the Cloud district someone like that? White clothing, strong and fast." The third one suddenly interjected.

"No, no. I heard he's from the revolution or something… like that. The girl told me that she was there and she said it was the nicest district ever thanks to that guy. Must be his e-vil twin."

The group's laughter suddenly came to a stop, as a strange breeze extinguished the fire in front of the group.

"Huh… Captain? Doesn't it smell… kinda...we..ird…?" Immediately, the three scouts tried to flee to a hiding place, but they were unable to move for some reason, and fell to the ground. They all looked at each other, motionless, before they heard a twig snap. If it wasn't for the dryness of the air, the sound would have been lost in the forest.

"I'm freezing...! For aught I know, he must be trying to torture me on some way...!"A blond girl mumbled while slowly walking through the forest. It seemed that her clothing had a strange light green tinge, as if to merge with the environment. However, all her limbs were covered in white and reddish bandages, contradicting whatever purpose her dress had.

"Oh, wow. It worked! Completely immobile." She said while letting out a goofy laugh. "Ohohoho! Who said that alchemy's only purpose was to transmute gold!?"

The three scouts looked horrified at each other, trying to move their limbs. It looked like they had suddenly lost all energy.

"Wait a second, my fellow dummies! I can't see a thing without that campfire." The strange girl, shivering, started to draw a circle on top of the ashes, adding some strange lines and symbols before stopping.

"Was this one for making fire? How could I have forgotten such simple alchemy? I've just made miasma so easily and… Ah, right! I need more objects. Do you guys have a compass? And chalk? And… you really can't move anything." She looked once again at the ashes before giving up.

"I'm being very nice to you three. I could run away, but look, this arm is broken. You know how many times I've broken a bone? Two times! I don't know if it's going to heal without my teigu. I mean, if I drank enough blood perhaps, but it's such a hassle without it. Maybe I should get a transplant for my eye and maybe I could make another arm… Hm..."

She sat down on the ground, in the middle of the three motionless scouts. She played with her hair, like it was helping her concentrate on whatever she was thinking. After a few minutes,she started smiling like a child about to do mischiefs.

"We'll have to wait a bit until that guy comes here. So meanwhile… You three have brown eyes." She casually mentioned as she touched her eyepatch. "They're all pretty ugly, but beautiful eyes like mine are very I can't mess up if I want a transplant so… Who wants to be a volunteer? But not you two. You're too old." She said while pointing at the two older men.

"But you're still a youngster, just like me. What are you doing here, throwing your life away?" She crawled over the rookie, caressing his face. "Let's see… Just make sure you don't blink!"

She forcefully opened his eye, as the boy panicked with a silent scream. With only her left hand, her fingers slowly buried into the rubbery sclera, ripping the small and weak blood vessels of the eye.

"Oops! I wanted the left eye, silly me." She stopped and licked the blood on her hand. "It tastes like oil. I guess we won't be compatible. You're all a disappointment." She got up from the ground and looked around the forest.

"Ahh… I'll get my dress dirty with blood. Well, good thing I have bandages, like Nefertiti." She slowly removed her dress, which was quite hard to do since she had a broken arm. But she couldn't just stain her only clothes!

"Whatever, now you two! I bet your blood is much better!"

* * *

I had been walking through this forest with Dorothea, mostly trying to find some Revolution guys. She's not a good partner, I'll tell you that. Not to mention that yesterday she tried to stab me with a damn branch. It's very awkward to talk with someone who just tried to murder you. Again.

Ten days ago, Esdese told me that I should know what to do, so I asked her if I could leave the town a bit later than the Jaegers, two days, to prepare for a mission with my men. Obviously, it had to be near Kyoroch, the place they'll be at, to get Esdese's approval.

Like my unit is still bounded to the Capital, this means that we've been detached from the chain of command. Which means, 'technically', that nobody is controlling me.

So after almost leaving Dorothea blind, don't ask for details, she willing asked me to come. I mean, she told me I wasn't menacing, so… I didn't know what else to do. It's not like I was actually going to rip her eye out.

It's been a week since that, and the Jaegers are more than likely already in that small town. We should reach it tomorrow, but I decided to take a small "stroll" with Dorothea, just in case. I'm sure she only agreed to come because she had something in mind to do, so it's better if I keep her close.

But that brings me a new did that girl go? I swear, if she tries to kill me again, I'm going to break her only useful arm. If she has been nice and actually followed the mission, I will take back my words.

"_Yeah! And then we go down on her!"_

Yeah!

Wait, what?

I kept walking, trying to think about rabbits, until I heard that weird alchemist laughing like an idiot. She was doing something bad.

I took a few shorts sprints until I reached a small clearing, ignoring the foul smell of the air, where I spotted a few figures on the dark. It didn't take me much to realize who was one of them.

"Dorothea, what are you doing? A-... Where is your dress? You're covered in blo- Is that an eye on your hand?" I said as I scanned her previously green and now red clothes.

I spotted her dress nicely folded near to a birch tree. Probably because most of the bandages and rags she was wearing were covered in blood, from head to toes. Looking at her, it didn't seem she had too much fun. Or she's just hating me. Both.

"Uh… No." She quickly got up and tossed aside the bloody organ nonchalantly. "I was trying to drink blood, but it's very hard without my teigu. Um… I might have killed two."

"You just keep finding ways to disappoint me. How did you get them so close?" I approached her warily, trying to make sense of this scene.

"Oh, you know, it's not like I'm an alchemist or anything." She said while licking her fingers like a cat.

"As long as you haven't killed the last one… You could have done something more humane, did you pluck the eyes of this one?" The face of one of them was poorly disfigured, apart from missing two eyes.

"No. I was practising medicine. He was going to die anyways! And his blood was pretty bad, so I thought that one would be better. But the blood just sprayed over me when I sliced his jugular. I broke two nails because of that… I want my teigu back! Everything was much smooth and tasty and easy and…!"

"Yeah, your face was smoother too." She scowled at me, obviously mad that I dismissed his 'beauty'.

I walked over to her, to check that the last one was still alive. We were supposed to follow the scouts, as we have done before. I allowed her to go ahead, because I needed to go to the bathroom of the forest.

In any case, I don't want to step on this blood. It's all messy and what is this circle? It has some weird markings and... Oh well, it's on my way.

I unconsciously stepped on it, which lead to Dorothea click her tongue in disappointment.

"What?" I asked without actually caring for an answer.

"I worked very hard on drawing that circle." She said, as she touched the broken drawing. "It was almost perfect." She faked a wail as if she cared about anything.

"You 'agreed' to come with me, so I thought that maybe you'd be useful." I said, looking over to the only living scout.

"Give me my teigu and I'll be happy." I really didn't want to hear her, so I ignored her.

I avoided the corpses around and crouched down to the last living scout. He was unconscious, but there was a pulse.

"It's been around five minutes, so the effect should start to wear off." Dorothea said, although I didn't understand what she meant.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but he's still alive." I smacked him a few times to wake him up. "Are you still here? Up to some nice discussion?"

The soldier looked confused for a moment and noticed his dead comrades nearby. His shocked face quickly turned serious and closed his eyes. If he tried to move, my sword was enough to keep him in place.

"I won't say anything." I sighed as soon as he said that.

"Yes, yes, I know. You guys could use some new phrases. I've heard that one a lot. How about 'Imperial scum,my lips are sealed!' or something like that?" I mean, it's only the third time we've done this, but normally after the second one things stop being coincidence.

"I always liked 'Have at thee coward!'." Dorothea said somewhat cheery.

"...Right, when did you hear that?" I doubt people talk like that nowadays.

"Last civil war. Get back my teigu!" I didn't hear a 'please' with that sentence.

Didn't last civil war happened like 300 years ago. Teigus got lost and I don't know who won. Anyways, I'm supposed to interrogate this man.

"So, friend, we've been following this trail for quite some time. Since the Revolution is all scattered along the Empire, we can't keep track of them. However, you guys are starting to gather on the south, correct? We… I need to know how you're moving the heavy equipment. All the guns you'll be using to siege the Capital. And since we've been finding packs of people like you, I thought the passage might be near here."

If I succeed I have a promotion guaranteed. My superiors want me out of the capital, as apparently I'm a bad influence. But they'll see I'm much more dangerous outside of it. They'll be forced to promote me if they don't want Esdese to have a talk with them.

"..." After my small explanation, it looked like he didn't want to answer.

Then I'll have to get serious and actually be an ass.

"Damn, you're the worst at this." Dorothea said while approaching the downed scout. "I'll do it in less than two minutes, Captain Special."

Part of me thought that she was helping, but I quickly dismissed that thought. She just wants to go back, get a new dress and sleep tight. Although seeing her only covered by some bandages and covered in blood was kind of exciting in a wrong way.

"Don't do anything stupid." I warned her before she did something harsh, like killing the prisoner.

She only glared at me before I started to sense her killing intent. Oh goodie…

By previous experiences, I can't say that Dorothea is scary or terrifying with her cute face, but she knows how to intimidate someone. That someone being me, but I have already mastered the art of not letting her near my private parts, so she has no effect around me.

However, the same can't be said for the soldier right here, as Dorothea was about to finish this up very quickly.

"Listen up! I don't want to be here half-naked while you keep being a whiny little bitch, so you better start talking!" That was unexpected.

The scout didn't seem fazed at all. In fact, he was even more determined to stay silent. That courage was probably the end for him, sadly.

And that courage was definitely mashed up as Dorothea glided her foot around his crotch and inevitably crushed the future of the poor guy. I visually flinched as I could only imagine the pain that caused to him. His unyielding scream quickly gave away to a soulless whimper that was only softened when Dorothea moved her foot.

Only watching is already hurting me. Ouch.

"Come on, answer. I'll crush the other one next." It was only one?! Damn.

I don't know if the guy didn't answer from the amount of pain he was suffering, or because he still had some kind of unimaginable mental strength. But I don't think that really mattered to Dorothea.

Out of fear that the shock would kill the guy, and because I pitied him as a man, I stopped Dorothea before she could do anything else.

"Really, I appreciate your support, but we're not Greek with the whole castration. You're going to kill him before he spills out the beans." I pulled some of her bandages to make her back away, much to her indignation.

"You'd stand here talking to this guy for hours while I froze to death!" JUST DRESS ALREADY!

She might not be able to control me anymore, but it's not like I can either. At first I could kind of control her with her wounds, but it's just temporary. She's also getting stronger everyday. And though she's not a threat yet, she's very annoying.

"Go drink blood or something. Let me talk to the poor bastard a-"

"But they're already cold! What do you think I am, a leech?!" She's complaining like a professional whiner.

But you know what? Yes! Because you're sucking my life out!

"So, are you still there? Scout?" I continued to ignore every girl in the vicinity, and kneeled down besides the prisoner.

It looked like his pain hadn't diminished in the slightest. I don't think he even noticed I was next to him.

"Good one Doro. Now he can't even talk." I wasn't exactly mad, but this was very annoying. Where will Commandant Tatsumi be at now?

"He'll start talking once I break his manhood!" I'm beginning to think she has more issues than I had imagined.

"I-I'll talk! Oh god! I'll talk!" He managed to speak up before the seventh circle of hell descended upon his bleak future.

I rolled my eyes as I saw that egomaniac smirk, which reminded me of some dark memories.

"Nice boy. Come on, speak loudly so he can hear you." Dorothea was probably gushing from gaining dominance once again.

And I must say, it feels nice when people actually work for you. Even if she's getting sadistic… no, narcissist tendencies.

He pretty much explained partially where the possible route would be at. It seems that the scouts don't know much more than a regular soldier. If I really want good info, I'd need to get an officer or something. But that'd get unwanted eyes from the Revolution.

This is better than anything at the very least. I'm going to get that artillery no matter what.

"Thank you very much. There's a small problem though. If we let you live, you'll tell them to change the route. And if we kill you they'll change the route because it's dangerous. So Dorothea, do your alchemy thingy." I said while walking away from the scout.

"Don't order me around. You're the one who needs me, not the other way around." The alchemist suddenly said.

I stopped and looked back at managed to glare at me for five whole seconds before she pouted in resignation.

"You know, alchemy doesn't work at remote control." Dorothea said as she crouched down to grab something from her dress. "So when I draw a symbol on the ground or in this case, a person, it's just a silly symbol until it can be activated."

The girl had some small piece of paper on her hand, which she quickly put on the forehead of the downed soldier.

"As stupid as it sounds, without an alchemist there isn't any alchemy. And you're going to feel a bit warm on your head."

There was a small glimmer and whatever Dorothea had on her hand disappeared. The soldier didn't look any different either.

"So it's pretty simple. If you ever try to tell someone that you were attacked, you'll simply be paralyzed forever. Just a bit of sweat, and bye bye your body below your neck."

She twirled her hair around for a moment, gazing the trembling soldier with a contained smirk.

Was everything she said a lie? Probably not, but even if it's not true the guy will be scared shitless of saying anything.

"Okay, let's go Dory. Can you stop holding down the guy?" I said as I try to make sure of what direction we would head next.

"Yes, yes. But like… I want some blood… and… just a bit won't kill him! AND THE GUY IS STILL RESISTING!" Thanks to these days with her, I could see that she had a fuse so short that the capital would have exploded several times already.

She was having trouble to pin the soldier, who was struggling to get out of her grasp.

"Bite him or something." I quickly gave an answer.

"You already saw what happened with the others, help me a little bit." She was putting quite some effort in restraining him, probably because her wounds still hurt her.

"You still have teeth, you dolt!"

"But I'll get dirty again! He might even die I bet!" Dorothea tried to use her weight to make him stop, but she barely weighed more than her bandages.

"I want to sleep, and I'm not leaving without you. So either bite him or leave him be." I said as I kept feeling from my handgun, just in case.

"Then give me your gun and let me shoot him."

"Oh, great idea. What'll you do after you shoot _me_?" I said as I approached their small fight.

"Come on! I'm a very nice girl… AH! What are you doing?!" She started protesting right as I separated her from the poor guy and lifted her up like a sack of rice.

She squirmed around, trying to free herself from me, all while saying very beautiful opinions about my mother. It was very annoying, but I got her to stop being such a damn damsel.

"I hate you so much!" I was already walking away, trying to reach our rendezvous point, but she kept trying to fight my grasp, although relying less on those heavy insults.

Her insufferable wailing was annoying but after a few more punches and kicks, her speed slowed down to the point of stopping. Barely ten seconds she lasted.

"Since, since you're being so unreasonable, I guess I'll stop." She said between some breaths.

Yeah, she only got tired. I've seen her sleep, but hell, has she ever eaten in front of me? Does she have a complex or it's just that she doesn't eat? I don't know, but the energy she wakes up with is astonishing. I honestly believe that she takes some hardcore drugs or something similar.

… Why is she touching my hip?

"Dorothea, if you're trying to steal the pistol, it's on the right holster. That thing you're touching is the hilt of the sword." She was definitely trying to grab the handgun because she was lying forwards to have more reach.

"You didn't let me touch your _sword._ Are you gay or something?"

There she goes.

"Very funny, but I was talking about the actual sword. Second off I'm giving you a piggyback ride. Complain once again and I'll drop you off." Every time she moves around, her chest caresses me more. Which I'm not enjoying.

"Pfft, please Tatsumi. You're just a very b- NO, STOP IT! THE GROUND IS COLD! AHHH!" She wrapped around her legs and arms around me as I let go of her.

"Get off. You're screaming into my ear!" I was trying to remove her legs, but she was making me lose my balance.

"NO, NO! Come on, I'll give you a massage?!" Either she was very lazy, or she didn't want to walk. I was betting on both.

"So you can backstab me?"

"I'll make you food, whatever you want!"

"The poison will make it great."

"Agh! What the hell do you want? You don't want pleasure, you don't want food, don't you want to enjoy life?!" She was holding onto me like her life depended on it, and me struggling wouldn't make it better.

However, this was different from before. She was actually the one proposing things to give me, not the other way around.

"Hm… Then do everything I want from now on." Between 100% and 120% of the times, please.

"...Get my teigu and I'll cons- NOOO! THERE ARE BUGS!" I can't get her off me! AHHH!

OH MY GOD! You know what?! Screw being nice with her!

"Fine, I'll bring you over. But first, let me do something to you. Let's say they are lessons on this companionship." I tried to hide my embarrassment as I only knew what it meant.

Like that voice in my head said, if I save a drowning person, he'll be grateful. If he isn't, then I'll let him drown once again. With Dorothea is the same. Right now I pulled her out of the 'water' by having Esdese not kill her, but she's not being very grateful. I'll let her 'sink' once again, and then after suffocating for quite a bit, I'll rescue her again. Obviously I'm not going to drown her literally, it's all a metaphor.

I've been thinking of ways to do that, but I couldn't think of any that didn't involve being a horrible human besides one. Except this one. There's no way she'll refuse, because it's such a trivial thing that she'll probably think I'm retarded.

But this is not only to have her at my mercy.

"You're into some kinky stuff, but you'll bring me like this all the way, right?" I don't know why she was so obsessed with this. Maybe I'm being fooled? No matter.

"Sure, why not. You'll have to get off me though." I pushed her off, as she reluctantly touched the ground and faced me.

Okay, how to make the most of this…

Oh, I know! This is a perfect plan. I've been thinking about it for a whole thirty seconds.

"First, bite my finger." I'd use my sword for this, but it's covered in blood and I don't want an infection.

She gave me a weird look, before taking my extended hand and nibbling my index finger. This is weird, don't look at me like I'm...

"No, like, hard. Make me bleed." Good thing _I _know the context of this.

"W-Wait, hold on. I don't want your blood. I get really out of hand…" Oh, oh, now she feels guilty about it. I'm actually surprised she didn't insult me.

"Then have fun with your wrinkles." I said, trying to force a positive answer.

This time she really bit my finger, _very _hard. I'm sure she almost snapped it off. I pulled it out before she could do anything else.

Maybe I didn't think that one out very brightly.

She looked at me with disgust before softening up a bit. Yes, so much for 'I don't want your blood' but you didn't spit it.

"Next time I'll punch you. Okay, next off..."

"Asshole. You're awful with women." She rolled her eyes before looking at me again. They didn't have that hunter glare from before. "Can't you make me feel good without giving me your blood?"

"You talk too much."

I think she's misunderstood what I'm about to so.

I should tie her arms though. Well, the one she can use. She can gouge my eyes out if I don't. Good thing I have a belt, or then all of this would go to waste.

"Gee, why are you removing your belt so soon? I need foreplay too!"

She really thinks that I… If she thought about it for one second, she'd realize what I'm really going to do.

"You're really misunderstanding what's happening here." She didn't move at all as I used my belt to tie her hands up.

"...?" She looked at me with some dreamy eyes, before feeling somewhat ashamed for some reason.

She willingly let me tie her hands. It wasn't because she wanted me to do anything, but because she just didn't feel threatened at all. She knows I don't torture people… at least with pain.

I had her tied, and for the legs… well, I'm going to be on top them.

Now I just need to lay her down on the ground and…

"Now I'm going to tickle you."

I grabbed a small green leaf, soft and smooth, from one of the nearby bushes and held my breath.

"Are… Are you serious?" She wanted to laugh but couldn't. Maybe because she thought it was too stupid.

"Yep. I don't know where your wounds are at and I don't want you to get hurt, so we'll just remove some bandages later."

It seemed that my blood had made her stupider too, as she just realized what I was going to do.

"H-Hey now... Are you really going to torture me like...?"

I don't want blood in my jacket. Besides, I'm not that much of a maniac to actually cut your fingers. Making someone laugh when they don't want to is the worst kind of torture I'll ever do. Unless I lose that last screw I have around.

"Kids tickle each other all the time. I heard from Esdese that nobles get tortured like this, so that they don't show any signs afterwards." I simply shrugged. "I'm treating you like some high-ranking girl, feel proud of it."

"Hm, whatever. If you want to be stupid, I'll let you be." Even if she was restrained, she kept her aggressive attitude towards me and provoked me as always.

"Fine then. You'll change of opinion afterwards." I said while messing around with the leaf.

I was really hesitant about this. But that voice in my head is right. I have to dominate her… to make her drown completely. There's no other way to control her.

I sighed heavily and started teasing her cheek as a test. She seemed to like it, but this was just the beginning.

"Maybe you've always wanted this? You don't want to be on the bottom anymore, eh?" Her words passed through me like air.

"I don't know where you're getting this."

"Please, you're just a child. It's so easy to see right through you." I tried to surprise her by tickling her ear with the leaf, right as she was saying those words.

She shut her mouth tight just as I did, trying to prevent her laughter.

Only now I realized that I was quite close to her. But unlike those other times, there wasn't a feeling of distress inside me. It felt kinda weird, like there was this pressure going around my body.

"Y-You're really doing this...Mh...! Don't blow into my ear!" She really loves to talk.

Her neck slightly jolted as I blew into her ear. She let out a soft breath afterwards, meaning that her ears must be kind of sensitive. They're probably the only thing that Esdese left alone, so it makes sense.

Right around this time I realized that I was really going through with this and mentally insulted myself several times..

I just have to imagine that I'm like much younger, I'm not holding someone against her will and this girl is totally my friend.

I continued tickling her ear slowly, watching how her breath became more rapid.

This is just retribution, right? She manipulated me and Mein like toys, so I guess if I make her feel the same, she'll become more bearable.

"Mmfh... What art thou…!" She held back her laugh, knowing that doing so would mean that I win.

I didn't know she used archaism. Ah, must be because she's trying hard to fit in on these modern times.

"What was that?" Something about her helplessness just gave me a rush. It was like finally karma was happening. Again.

"N-Nothing!" She desperately squirmed around, trying to flee from my movements.

She's handling herself very well, but I'm not done yet.

"_You know, there are other places you can use that lonely leaf. But… Oh my, they're covered in bandages! Guess what you'll have to do?"_

Fine, fine! I'll do it. If I somehow managed to maintain my chastity around Esdese, it's not like I won't see anything new. Besides, she doesn't have much chest and that other part is… well, I'm not sure if it tickles down there. I guess it would…?

I won't know if I don't try.

I started thinking about butterflies and sunshine, and proceed to slowly remove some bandages from her neck and chest. It was difficult, seeing how she was flipping around, but it'd be much harder if I hadn't tied her up.

"C-Come on now... Are you going to rape me now? Please?"

"Not really. But I think you mean, 'art thou going to…'" I removed more and more bandages until...

"Al... Fh... Ah...! Don't remove that... Hahh... It's ugly...!"

A mix of relief and stress invaded me as there wasn't that many wounds on her torso. I would have started wondering why she covered herself in bandages, but I was too distraught by my own actions that I didn't even bother.

Also, she was flat.

"Honestly it's better if you give up."

"Ffhhh... Fuck you... This is... nothing..."

I knew she was bluffing. Her face was bright red as she tried to contain her laughter, twisting her lips as she tried to escape from reality.

Basing on my experience while I was a kid, I knew another ticklish spot was the belly button. The navel is somewhat like that place that you don't think you have until you look at it, so it's extra sensitive.

But would that be enough to finally make her laugh? Because even after she breaks out laughing, I'll have to keep going for at least twenty minutes. I don't want to desensitize her too quickly.

I moved the leaf around almost without touching her, slowly heading towards her navel. And then I started moving it in circular motions, causing her to quiver. It seemed that I had her completely under my thumb, because as much as she tried to twist around, I didn't let her.

"How's that? You're starting to sweat a bit. Wasn't this night cold for you?" I asked, while trying to focus on my mental tasks of cute animals and dead people.

"...Kh…" She wasn't answering at all. All her willpower was concentrated on not laughing.

This must be it. Now for the final strike! If there's a spot where most people are ticklish, it's the feet! But it'll be hard to do so, since I'm on top of her legs in order to keep her in place.

Assuming an awkward position, I spent some time running the leaf along her legs before finally reaching her sole.

Her body convulsed from the maddening sensation, but somehow, she still managed to not laugh. At this moment, instead of getting frustrated, I only got more determined.

The more she holds on, the stronger it will be the breakdown.

"Just for holding out so far, I'll bandage your left arm after this!" I said as I prepared my double assault.

I've been using only one hand. With this left hand of mine, I'll show you how you're not any different from us!

Her face stiffened up as she saw my free hand slowly caress her leg until I reached her feet.

"W-Wait! I'll be good, I swear!"

But those words were like wind to me, and finally I decided to end this.

Just as my hand made contact with ticklish foot, she exploded in a wave of laughter that had been bottled up from the beginning. But it wasn't a happy laugh at all, it was in a swift and lovely agony. Pleasure, pain and laughter, all in one!

So laugh, laugh! Let your laughter make you insane!

Because we have an hour to pass by, and you won't stop laughing at all!

* * *

**Some hours later…**

…

…

…

Uh… I might have gone a bit overboard on that one… I guess the human body has some weird spots. I think I've studied enough female anatomy for today.

That's something I thought I'd never say.

We are going to repress this memory. One… two… REPRESSED!

In any case, I was already reaching the rendezvous point where I would reunite with my soldiers. Esdese never said that I had to come alone and besides, doing these missions alone wouldn't help much. I don't know how the garrison of Kyoroch will react though.

I looked around and saw that the moral wasn't as low as I imagined. We had to separate into groups of three platoons to make the... Wolfpacks? I think that's how everyone calls them. I was told to find the route the Revolution uses and exploit it as much as we can before they realize.

In any case, the town will be filled with Jaegers and Night Raiders, so I don't think it'll take much for the Revolution to use another route.

Night Raid may not have arrived yet, since they must have been taking secondary roads. Obviously Esdese and co. will already be there.

It's like I have a terrible weight on my shoulders.

"Horrible… so horrible…" Dorothea muttered as I carried her back to the camp.

Ah, that. Honestly I don't feel bad at all. It was weird, very weird, but I had to do something. Although if she could just try to not fall backwards, that'd be great.

I continued forward until I noticed someone approaching me. Ah, right, the only guy whose name I remember, Egu.

"Gee, Captain, what were you doing with that girl?" My right hand man said right as he saw me.

"Don't ask. We haven't brought any clothes, right?" I made sure that Dorothea was indeed alive, and sighed exhausted.

"Well, we don't usually bring dresses around... Why… is she half naked? I thought she had more bandages than that?" He asked, half serious.

"She asked for it. Well, Dorothea, I upheld my part of the deal. You can get off." She basically plummeted to the ground, making a very strange poof.

"You can bring her an uniform and… Wait, no. She's way too tired to do that much exercise. You can just cover her with a blanket. And by clothes I meant spare clothes for me? I got kinda… drenched." I looked away at the damn irony of the situation.

Maybe she laughed a bit too much, and maybe something kinda leaked out. Basically, she pissed on me and now part of my shirt and pants are all wet. It's pretty disgusting.

I remember clearly that a month ago she wanted me to have a golden shower. I hate irony.

"But this forest is dr- Oh… Can I ask what happened?"

"No." I really didn't want to explain that. "Just go get a blanket."

"Yes, sir." He dashed off as soon as he said.

Dorothea hadn't really moved from the spot I dropped her at, so maybe I overdid it a tiny bit. But, those were only a few laughs, nothing she won't recover from. Just like the laughs I'll be having when she finally dies.

Anyhow, I don't really have much to do besides waiting for Egu. I'm not stupid enough to leave Dorothea alone and I don't know why, but she isn't the best chatting partner.

Ah, she can't even stand up. The ground is cold… and… eh, are you breathing?

I got slightly worried that she might have had a heart attack, so I kneeled down and tried to put pressure on the jugular, because as you know, that's a very important vein. However, as soon as I tried to touch her, she quickly backed off in fear.

...Maybe I was wrong in doing this. But there's no other way. She's drowning in despair and now I'll have to pull her out of the water, hopefully for the last time.

"Tomorrow we'll reach Kyoroch. And well, you've tried to kill me less than five times. I was thinking of actually giving you something nice." I looked behind me, since we hadn't reached the camp yet.

"I guess I haven't carried you all the way, right? Hop on my back. We're almost there." I turned around and pointed at my back.

Although I wasn't staring at her, I could tell that she was very hesitant about it, but she finally gave in after a few seconds of thinking.

It felt wrong to be silent after everything, so I actually went against my common sense and spoke up.

"So… I honestly thought you didn't eat. I mean, vampires don't really…"

"I'm not a vampire." She actually answered, leaving me a bit dumbfounded.

"Well, you don't have fangs anymore, but you do have a very pale skin, and you look kind of dead." I don't know why I was trying to strike up a conversation with her. I do feel kinda like an asshole, but it was completely justified.

She didn't answer at all, but I didn't have anything else to do besides talking to her.

"Next time you try to do something, I will not be as good as tonight. Besides, it was just a few good laughs, and then it was maybe a bit of pain and then you kinda leaked, but hey, that wasn't so bad after all."

"I-It… w-was… no-nothing." She weakly said, clearly lying.

Poor girl can't let down that pride of hers. It's amazing she's keeping up with it. She's endured both Esdese and me without breaking.

"Oh. Do you want me to tickle you again?"

"NO!" She yelled into my ear, leaving me almost deaf.

Apart from my mixed reaction, I reckon the experiment has gone great. She now knows that I will make her feel horrible, but only if she does something against me. Will this actually change her? I doubt it, until I keep doing it some more.

I reached the quickly assembled camp, and greeted some of the soldiers that came to me, probably seeing that Dorothea was.. Uh, injured. I brushed it off as exhaustion and they nicely backed away.

Of course, they didn't know why she was actually with me. It's not like I have to tell them everything. I think I don't have to. It's not like I cheated to enter the army.

"Captain,I had put together a small tent! And here's the blanket!" Egu dashed over to me, covering Dorothea with the blanket.

"T-There was no need for that. I could have done it." I kind of want to feel useful too, but he didn't see it like it.

"It was no problem!" He proudly said, trying to get my approval.

"Thanks then. Dorothea, I guess you want to sleep. Come on, enter."

...What? I'm not going to let her sleep where I can't see her. She'll run away. If she at least sleeps beside me, I'll notice before she does something harsh.

I let her down on the floor, and she slowly crawled away before entering the tent. It was kind of depressing seeing her grasping that blanket like her life depended on it.

Right after she entered, I walked away to eat something. And to clean my hands.

"Captain, eh, may I ask a question?" Egu accompanied me, as he should, and continued talking.

"As long as it isn't about my clothes, ask away."

"Why is that woman with us? Isn't she... the one we tried to kill?" He wasn't suspicious, more like confused.

"Well, yes."

That seems like neat answer.

"... Is that it?" Come on, what does he want? The bible?

"Alright, how about this. After our attempted murder, we saw that she was actually innocent. Then, to make it up to us, she has decided to willingly come with us."

"But, Captain, shouldn't we be the ones who..."

"Ahaha... No. See it like this, she's our health delivery girl." I think that's how some soldiers referred to nurses, right? It must be some military slang I don't know about.

"Oh. Like a prostitute?"

"No! A nurse, a nurse! That's not what it means!"

"I'm pretty sure it does, sir."

Shit, what the hell. Obviously it should mean doctor or something that goes to houses. Not prostitute! It's not important, calm down.

"Whatever, call her a prostitute for all I care, it's not like it matters to her." It's not like she's listening right now.

"O-Oh.." He nodded, trying to digest that answer.

"What is it?" I asked, seeing how Egu was concerned about something, but I couldn't tell what.

"Well, you seem kind of… You look very off when she's around. I'm not complaining or anything though, sir!" He stopped as he bowed several times, trying to get me to forgive him.

"It's necessary, think about it as a kind of etiquette… I can't act normally with her, like with Seryu. We just need that alchemist. She wants to do something too, and we can't let her go rampant knowing that, can we?" I looked away, trying to think of a more meaningful answer.

"I see..." He nodded as if reminiscing some distant memory. "But is it really necessary? She doesn't look like she could hurt a fly. She looks like a porcelain doll."

"You know, you're lucky I know you or you'd end up punched. If you really think that, I have a new mission for you. After we reach Kyoroch, I won't be able to be… No, I don't want to be with Dorothea, so I need you to keep an eye on her." I looked him dead on the eye, making sure he saw it was serious.

"I have to babysit her?" He was pretty confused.

"Yes. I don't want to end my days watching over her, so tell me any developments. Whatever she does, and about her wounds and her mental state. More importantly, don't let her seduce you. Don't let her near you. Those are the two important steps with her. Then you'll see how much of a nice girl she is." I quickly explained, as I was starving.

"Captain, I don't know. Is she really that dangerous? She just looks like an orphan who has been influenced by some bad choices and people..." He willingly said, as he's very likely to speak his mind.

"That doesn't justify anything. She is what she is. This is very important, and you can't refuse."

He was hesitant, but he nonetheless knew what an order was.

"Now… I'm hungry."

After that, I ate some half-decent stew and talked with some of the soldiers there. Just trying to look like an actual officer. But after that, I felt exhausted so I entered my tent, checked that Dorothea was indeed alive and sleeping.

Even then, I wanted to make sure she wasn't faking it, so I tried to stay awake. But I was way too tired for that...

* * *

Ow… I fell asleep. There's already a bit of light… Morning already? No... I don't want to open my eyes...

I still feel tired. I haven't slept like a normal person in ages. I would be sleeping great with Esdese if she had more clothes. And more space.

My back is hurting like hell though. I was sitting down before I fell asleep, so I guess that's why. But I don't understand why my shoulders feels so stiff. It may the responsibility… HA!

I slowly opened my eyes and stretched out my arms, without caring about all my bones protesting. After I wiped the sleep from my eyes, I noticed that Dorothea was much closer to me than what I expected. She was probably cold and just approached me unconsciously.

However, watching her sleep so innocently, like she was a completely human being, stirred my insides in a strange way. I could only see the shape of her body through the white blanket, but I couldn't forget what laid below it.

Wounds covered in someone else's blood that I should have cleaned and treated yesterday but forgot because I was tired.

"Oh crap, I forgot to change her bandages." I slapped myself a few times to wake up completely and left the tent.

After everything I've done, it'd be awful if she dies.

It took me just a bit to gather everything I needed, since the activity on the camp was starting to rise along with the sun. I greeted some soldiers I didn't know, and lost a fair amount of time, but Dorothea shouldn't have woken up yet.

Let's see if I have everything. Lots of different bandages, another bunch of gauzes, some antibiotic ointment… we just have a bit left, because the herbs needed aren't really growing on this season. Vodka, because we don't have any disinfectant and this is the closest I'll get. And a pair of tweezers and scissors because why not? Maybe a bloatfly has laid eggs on her. It would be absolutely disgusting and horrendous, but it happens.

I entered the tent once again, and left everything I was carrying beside her sleeping body.

I expected her to wake up as I made too much noise, but she was still in the same position since I left. Did she die?

Although I saw her chest moving up and down, I sat down next to her and searched for a pulse on her neck. She usually wakes up way before me so it's my first time telling her to get up. Well, I didn't know if she really slept, but we can confirm it now.

I wasn't really sure on how to wake her up, so I started poking her cheek for a few moments. She didn't exactly react, which prompted me to continue to caress her nose until I reached her lips.

I panicked for a second as she rolled around and threw her left hand on my lap with a loud thud. Luckily, she was still completely out of service.

Thank god for that. She's not very lady-like if she's drooling like that, but at least she doesn't snore or anything.

Fine, I'll clean your face and your drool and then...

"...!" I pulled my hand back, realizing what I was doing. She looks five years younger than yesterday, so my mind must have gone out of touch for a moment.

Ehem… I guess that her fake beauty is pretty good. She's very soft and tender now, probably because she drank blood, even if not much. Her lips have a good pink color too, not the that pale tone they had a few days ago… And her hair is clean and silky, even if I haven't...

Stupid male senses!

I have to act like a damn monk around every girl around me, and it's driving me crazy! This is not much better than sleeping besides Esdese. And least she treats me nicely, unlike Dorothea. Shouldn't that give my body a clear signal that this would be much worse?

"Hey." After I felt my clothes get a bit tighter, I decided to get rougher and pinched her cheeks.

She sluggishly tried to fight me off before hugging my hips. That's not good. The best thing is to not acknowledge anything.

"I'll give you five seconds before I start tickling you." I pulled myself back and pushed her off as I said those words.

It didn't take much before Dorothea started rolling around, panicking. She got up at the same time as me, but she looked way more sleepy. This was different than usual, as every morning she's always with much more energy.

"What the hell…? You're awful…" She babbled like a baby, really tired.

"Good morning to you too. When was the last time you changed your bandages?" I said as I made her sit down on front of me, grabbing her only healthy arm.

"Huh…? I don't think I've ever changed them." She said as she tried to rub her eyes.

"Yeah, very funny. You would have died of infection several weeks ago if that was true. Oh well, stop rubbing your eyes." I took her left arm once again as lightly as possible, and looked at her hand.

"I'm going to remove the bandages of your left hand, okay?" I couldn't find where the bandages began, so I grabbed the pair of scissors from the pile and made my own way.

"I don't need your help! I can…" She tried to say something, but it seemed whatever fighting spirit she had was very mild. "Don't touch neither my eye or my right arm."

I don't know why she's so opposed to me healing her, but I suppose it's just pride. Or she doesn't want to show weakness or some shit.

"Right." I removed most of the bandages from her hand, and focused on her wounds. "So, there aren't any nails. But it looks like they're beginning to grow again. Your pinky finger is fine though. And turn it around... Your palm looks like it's burnt."

All the burnt skin will peel off, but for such a small wound it should have happened already. This must have happened not too long ago, so she should have been out of Esdese's grasp by then. Besides, it looks too mild to be torture.

Anyways, not much I can do besides her pinky finger.

"You can leave this hand uncovered. It looks like it's mostly healed." I continued to remove the bandages, this time from her wrist.

"No. It looks ugly, it's better off covered like before." The way she said it, meant that I couldn't bargain around that.

I removed more and more bandages, until her whole left arm was uncovered.

"Huh… there's not much here." From her elbow to her shoulder, it had healed almost completely, to the point of being an almost normal arm.

"Blood helps me heal. If I suffer too many wounds without blood, I'd start to get a bit… older." She explained, without anyone asking for it.

"Who did you drink after Esdese tortured you? Wait a second, something pierced you here."

She had small scabs from her elbow to her shoulder, but they were too small to be made with a normal weapon. Even then, I managed to discover the culprit of this act! There was a small spike going across her arm, as sharp as a needle. I couldn't gather what or why Esdese would do this, but I only gathered that a really angry porcupine had decided to relieve some stress in here.

"Okay, not too bad. Although… wait a second…" I grabbed the tweezers I carried here and focused on her arm again. "It won't hurt that much!"

"What do yo- AH! That hurt!" She yelped in pain before shaking me off, as blood started to drip down her left arm.

I looked at the needle I had removed, and besides the red from blood, there was a strange greenish sticky substance on the end. Whatever it was, I didn't want to touch it.

I laid down the needle and tweezers in a white cloth, to make sure I didn't have a nasty surprise.

"Don't be a baby. I'll treat your arm first before heading for your back."

Dorothea didn't do anything as I grabbed the bottle of vodka, with at least 50% alcohol, and started to unscrew the cork. It's just to rinse and clean, nothing else.

It helps to disinfect, although it really isn't as effective. And apparently, it hurts much more than normal disinfectant.

She didn't know that until I poured it around her wounds, and yelled like a crow until I covered her mouth with my hand.

"Come on, it isn't that bad. It can't be that bad… Are you crying?" I felt slightly awkward and removed my hand from her mouth.

"It stings like a damn lemon on steroids! How am I supposed not to cry?!" She escaped my grip and wiped her tears from her dready eyes. "You just want to use me, don't you?! Why are you torturing me and not Stylish?! You're the one who's with Night Raid, and I'm not a Jaeger you know?! I have done noth- I don't deserve it!" Somehow the little stinging made an unexpected outburst of emotion.

Oh, right. I didn't really explain why I was with Night Raid back with Stylish.

"No, no, I'm not from Night Raid. They tried to kill me before entering the lab, but you know, a friend I knew let me cooperate on their mission. Besides, never heard the story of the soldier who defeated Zank? Until Night Raid came, that is." I said, as I pulled her arm once again.

I held back any more comments and covered her wounds in the herbal ointment.

"I'm not sure if I should believe that… But you're different from the Revolution, so I'll think about it. Wait… then why were you there? In the lab, I mean. Because you're lucky I gathered what I wanted from Stylish before you ended him." I was sure Dorothea was trying to pull my leg, but it looked like she was genuinely curious.

"You see, I wanted to kill Stylish because… Well, I didn't want to blame myself for Seryu's death, so I pinned it down on him. The one who killed her was from Night Raid, you know? It's not the first time I fight alongside someone I don't like." I said as our gazes met.

Something clicked on her as I finished my explanation. It looked like some of the tension was dissolved at that instant, as she muttered something along the lines of; "Ah, I understand."

"Seryu? That name rings a bell… Oh, she was the idio- I mean, the experiment. I told you I had my reasons."

I didn't answer, and grabbed some gauzes and putting some pressure on the wounds. I don't know if that hurt her, but she continued talking.

"You know, I made the same mistake! Caring for someone. It's a pretty horrible feeling… losing someone. Last time that happened I was pretty young like I am now. So you should do like me. If everyone cares for you and you don't care for them, then you have a very long and fun live in front of you. Have you never heard; it's good to trust others but not to do so is much better? You should follow those words too." She could be lying, but there was something weird in her voice that made me trust her.

"Is that why you want beauty, so everybody just looks at you and they kneel down before you?" I asked her while starting to bandage her arm with new, white bandages.

"No." Her answer was instant. I thought I had her figured out. "So, you just shouldn't have cared about that sniper girl. Sure, I mean, I didn't really want to finger her, but we could have had some fun times together."

"Because, what did you say? Ah, that it was my fault because you drank my blood." I hid my anger behind a wall of sarcasm.

"Which would have never happened if you had never cared about anyone! See? If you could just do that, everything would have gone much better." She's pissing me off.

"Oh, but I've been doing that this whole time. Haven't you noticed? I don't care about you." I finished patching her arm right as I said those lasts words.

"I think I noticed when you left me to die when that Night Raider attacked. And then after I escaped, you tried to kill me. In front of the palace. With Budou and Esdese inside. You're not really bright, are you?" For the first time, I didn't know if she was saying it out of spite, or she was just teasing me.

"I make that up with my good looks. You on the other hand… I don't think you've shown any bright moves either." I said while looking at the pile of bandages, and checking if I'd have enough for her torso.

"That just means that I'm good looking too."

What do you mean 'too'? I meant it as a joke!

"Meh, if I had to rank you, I'd say seven or eight."

"Huh? What do you mean, seven or eight? Am I not beautiful? I must be at least an eleven! No, a hundred! Tell me!" She outright demanded so suddenly.

Didn't Esdese question me about this too?!

"Ehh, beauty is cuteness plus attractiveness, right? So, you're pretty cute, but it's not like I'm attracted to you… well, not enough. I think that has to do with all that horrible stuff you've done."

I didn't even mean to say it as an insult, so I would have laughed at her shocked face, as if it was something that it had really hurt her. Because, honest to god, after calling her so many names I doubted she'd care about such a simple thing.

But she just stood there dumbfounded. Maybe she really believed the world turned around her, or that everyone was just something to be used.

"...But, you are… healing me." She said, like a machine trying to start up once again.

It looked like I really had hit her somewhere awful. And right now I didn't need her to sink to the ocean anymore. I have to fix this.

"What does that have to do with anything? I'm helping you because it helps me too. Besides, beauty is just subjective. I'm sure other people find you beautiful, but I could care less. I told you to come because you're useful." She could help me with Seryu and to knock out the Empire, aside from killing teigu users.

"Then... what do you want me for?" She wanted an answer, more than likely because she didn't understand what I meant.

"You're an alchemist, right? I've never heard of one, so I assume your alchemy would be nice. And if I do manage to get back your teigu, I'd be glad to give it to you. But I know how you are. You probably just want to go back with your pals, and try to murder me then, right? Lure me into a false web of security or something." It was half and half.

"Hm, you sure think of yourself highly. You're just a nuisance, but…" Dorothea pondered for a second, before glaring at me once again. "Since you think so much of yourself, I hate to tell you that it wasn't entirely your fault. So I'm not thinking about killing you yet." She suddenly said.

"What?"

"It _is _your fault that you got me all horny with your blood. But, it's not your fault that Esdese got me and tortured me. That was her fault...maybe...a bit of mine... but I was a bit reckless, I admit it. And that damn Syura knew it too, and the fucker didn't even try to get me out of that hellhole. He just laughed at my face for being tortured and told me that it was my fault. Fucking asshole is right, and that makes me even more mad!" I saw that hot blooded nature of hers rise to the surface, which somehow felt as if I had reached a new point.

A bit 'reckless' she says.

"Besides, I simply know that you couldn't have chosen her over me, because then you wouldn't have tried to 'protect' me, right? 'Please, just torture her' that's what you said. If that's protecting for you, why the hell is tickling someone torture?! It doesn't correlate at all, does it?! And… I know you like small chests like mine, so Esdese is out of the question."

I don't know if she meant to say 'Like Mein' or 'like mine'. Either way, I'VE NEVER SAID THAT!

"There can't be anyone who really likes that woman. You probably don't like either, am I wrong? I've heard how she kidnapped you, didn't she? Don't you want to kill her too? Don't you? I know how you hate being used, so I must be right." She leaned against me, getting so close to me that I could feel her breath. I had never seen this revengeful side of her.

Sorry, but no, I don't hate Esdese. Even if the way we've met is unusual, I've seen how vulnerable and innocent, or how determined and bold she can be. I hope she can also join me in my crusade against the Empire because, I've grown fond of her. Although I don't love her like she loves me… I'm sure she can understand that. Or I hope.

"Esdese is like a really late objective. What I can say is that I'm focusing more on the Jaegers, because they're in the way for… my plans." I said, trying to maintain my composure with her body so close.

"And why does the anarchist want to get rid of the Jaegers? You said you weren't from the Revolution. Maybe-maybe, you're powerhungry? Although you don't seem like someone who has a motive to do anything. Weirdo." She disclosed without any fear.

"Hm, I won't say anything else besides they're in the way. But my motivations aren't really important. And I suppose you want to kill her. You can't beat Esdese you know? Even if I got back your teigu."

"And you can't either. You're like someone who has big plans for the future but can't make them happen... so why don't you just help me then. You'll have to face Esdese sooner or later." Dorothea said once again, but this time giving my personal space back.

She looked at her newly bandaged arm, and smiled happily. That was a bribe, not a present.

"As if. You help me first." I said while she stretched herself and looked for her dress. "Sorry, I wasn't clear. You will help me. Unless you actually want an actual torture this time." I finished.

There was a moment of doubt, that made her actually think about my actions. She didn't exactly fear me, but she was getting wary of what I could really do to her if I actually wanted, because something as childish as some tickles made her feel horrible. And I'm sure she wouldn't want another Esdese-like torture. Those negative feelings were enough to give a satisfactory answer.

"Why don't you use that energy in doing something useful." Dorothea said while grabbing her dress and trying to put it on, before realizing that her broken arm wasn't going to be kind enough to slide in its proper way. "Maybe then you'd be actually making progress."

"Right, because you're any better." I said as she groaned while rolling around the ground, trying to fit in the dress properly. "You should really put a cast on that arm. Why did you remove it anyways?"

"Shut up!"

Right, her damn pride and short fuse. I could just make her submit again, but the outcome could variate a lot. If she willingly accepts, she'll think that she's in control.

I got close to her fight with the dress, and removed it from her body with a quick snatch. She just looked more pissed off than anything else, but what's surprising about that?

"Come on, your arm first." I held the dress up, enough so she could put her arms first. "We have common enemies, so it's only common sense to team up, right?"

"...You must be really desperate to seek out my help. You do know I'm not a fighter. I was planning to kill Esdese… somehow. I didn't really think how." She answered with a bitter laugh.

She's softening, or maybe giving up. The former is more likely.

"There are a lot of ways to fight. For someone like you, sticks and stones are just a sideshow."

Our gazes met once again, but this time I wasn't the one who looked away. She sighed heavily, and flicked her hair.

"Now you're telling me pretty things? Fine, I may consider giving you a hand. But I want to recover my brainchild."

I really wanted to say no. By brainchild, she probably meant Seryu. But I can't be picky about this. Next time, she'll help me without any conditions.

"If I do, you'll help me face the Jaegers?" I can't get Night Raid on this deal, but I'll convince her later on.

"Sure, but if you really want me to fight all of them, I have to completely heal. And to do that I want a place… a laboratory. And material." She demanded, as I helped her dress up.

"Let me have someone looking after you and I'll let you have anything you want. No wait, let me rephrase that. I'll let you have anything that I find feasible."

"Give me a pen and a paper and I'll tell you what I need. Also, I need to kill a lot of people. At least five. I want someone with blue eyes. But not too bright. Or shallow. You know what, I'll do it myself." I finally managed to dress her up, and she quickly gained some distance from me.

"So? Deal?" I extended my hand in order to seal the deal, like in the books.

"This will only help me, and it's not like I'm actually blind. I know when things are convenient, I teamed up with Syura for Stylish, and now I don't need him anymore. This will be the same, but if things go south, you'll be on your own."

There was something cold and horrendous about her hand that made the handshake… comfortable. We both knew that this was a mere truce between each other so we could focus on a bigger threat. However, this would have never happened two weeks ago. All thanks to Esdese, and Tatsumi's Tickle Torture©.

"So, we're partners in crime from now on. We both agree that the Jaegers are in the way, so we'll need some kind of plan to pick them off… We'll meet in some weeks to think about it. You'll be as free as a bird meanwhile." I said as she gazed over me eeryly.

"You just don't want to see me anymore." She caught on relatively quickly.

"And are you sad because of that? Do you want more of my blood?" I hope she noticed the sarcasm.

"...You're a sick bastard!" She suddenly said.

"What?"

"You're trying to get me hooked on your blood!" Wow, I actually didn't think of that.

"Huh… Yeah, that would have been much easier. Want some?"

* * *

The stupid girl actually tried to bite me.

A strange sensation of joy and awkwardness dominated my body as I left the tent, feeling as if fate had finally gave me a pat in the back and said "This is karma."

And now finally, the moment I was waiting for had arrived! I can be _very_ far away from Dorothea! YES! IT'S BEEN LIKE AGES! I DON'T NEED TO SEE HER FACE ANYMORE! During a small period of time. BUT NO MORE!

I looked around for a moment, trying to hide my happiness, and spotted my lieutenant nearby. He'll have to deal with all the bullshit Dorothea puts him through, but I'm sure he can handle it.

"Egu! Didn't you say I was a bitter person?! Feel my good spirits!" I said as I dragged Dorothea along, as she'd try to slope off.

"G-Great, captain! T-Then do I have to safeguard, eh… Your name was?" It took me a moment to realize that his agitated state was more than likely due to Dorothea's cute and youthful stance and face.

Doesn't he even remember when we fought against her, and he slashed Dorothea's back when I went down? Nevertheless, she shouldn't know who was the person who did it, so it's not a problem.

"It's Dorothea for you." She said with a cheeky smile. Somehow, she had gained a lot of energy in a few moments.

"See, you two are best friends already. Egu, remember what I told you yesterday." He frantically nodded as he tensed up even more. "And… Nobody knows you're coming with me, Dorothea. So maybe we should have nicknames or aliases, just in case Egu has to talk with either of us and there are dangerous people around."

My lieutenant nodded, and got silent for a moment. I tried to do the same, but Dorothea apparently doesn't like silence.

"A nickname? I obviously need a cute name, for example, Cleopatra!" She was suddenly too interested in this.

"Alright, you'll be called Nutcracker. You, Egu, will be… You don't really need one, to be honest. And I can be…" While I was thinking of a name, Dorothea quickly protested.

"Nutcracker?! That's a stupid name!" She complained, with her usual tone.

"It isn't. You crack nuts. It actually hurts to think about it."

I saw my lieutenant squirming around, before speaking up.

"Maybe a historical name! Maybe… what was the name of that general of the civil war 300 years ago…? Right! How about White Baron? It's so obvious that nobody will think it's you." I thought about it, before agreeing with him.

I guess because of my clothes.

"Yeah, besides Dorothea, nobody will think that I'm that stupid." I nodded to myself.

"That's a name I haven't heard in ages." The alchemist suddenly said with a somber look. "After the civil war, they called him White Baron. But when it was still ongoing and undecided, it's name was much more ominous. White terror or… White death. Because everything froze wherever he stepped in."

Regardless how she knew that, it was obvious that the White Baron's teigu was the same as Esdese's but much less powerful.

"If you chose a stupid nickname for me, then I say that you call yourself 'White Death', to make your master a bit more happy. " She was obviously mocking me.

"Fine, I chose yours, so it's only fair. I'll be White Death and you Nutcracker." I didn't want to argue, so I quickly agreed. "Anyways, just use those nicknames just in case there's someone dangerous, like high-ranking officials or the Jaegers." I told my lieutenant.

"As you say so!" My underling said.

"Well then, it's settled. We'll arrive after midday, so after that you can do whatever, Dorothy." I said, while trying to get a sense of direction.

"Don't ever call me that, ever." The immortal girl suddenly said.

"What are you going to do? Hit me with your bandages?"

She glared at me for quite a while, before gaining a witty smirk.

"Hey, you, Lieutenant guy. Did you know both Tatsumi and I were walking down a hallway when he pushed me against a wall and then procee- Pffh!" I didn't even take a second to shut her mouth with both of hands.

"No, no, shut up! You made me do it! I mean… Shh!"

* * *

**Several hours later...**

Amazing... This town looks so exotic! It has some weird name like Kyo-something, but that's absolutely acceptable after seeing this. So this is where the Jaegers and Night Raid will fight.

It's like people is genuinely happy to live here! The corruption of the Empire doesn't seem to spread at a consistent pace. Or perhaps it's because this is the religious capital of the... Path of Peace, I believe.

The buildings seem well-maintained, and it doesn't smell like somebody pooped nearby! Although it's a bit too warm for me... I could take some vacations here!

"Go to the barracks and tell them we're here for clean up. If for some reason they have some questions, tell them that I will answer them." I quickly said as I headed the opposite direction.

"A-Alright, but you're not coming?" Egu said as he kept a close eye on Dorothea, probably anxious or nervous around her.

I had to go and tell the Jaegers I had arrived. But I didn't feel like it'd be a good idea to leave Dorothea alone until I could be sure the town accepted us inside. I had sent a letter, but better to be sure.

"I suppose I'd be an awful officer if I didn't present myself to the town's governor." I said, as I made sure to be far enough from the alchemist. "I'll do that thing later anyways."

Besides, I doubt Esdese will care if I'm late by a few minutes.

* * *

**Meanwhile, on the other side of town...**

"He should have arrived by now." Esdese said as she shifted her position on the armchair she was patiently sitting in.

The Jaegers had arrived at Kyoroch two days ago, and they had settled themselves in a building close to the cathedral. There was no need to say who had provided them with it.

After that, they had already assigned the shifts that each member would need to take, even before Night Raid arrived to the town themselves. Bols, Ran and Kurome were out from the proclaimed "meeting room" Esdese had chosen, so it was just herself and Wave on the room.

"Who should have arrived?" Wave rolled his eyes as he inspected the half-empty room.

In comparison to the counterpart on the Capital, this meeting room looked like another saloon. There was no big table dominating the room, only a desk in the end of it and some couches in the middle. Everything was made out of wood, and not the finely decorated marble of the Capital. All the bookshelves were empty, just like every room on that building.

"Tatsumi. If he is as skilled as I assume, he should have entered the room five minutes ago." The general said while playing a small flask filled with a red goo.

"He had a mission, or something like that, right? He probably went to meet with chief of the garrison, or whoever controls it. That's what I'd do anyways." Wave answered, much more casually than the first few encounters he had with his commander.

"He tends to avoid high-ranking officers. Perhaps he feels more comfortable with some nobody on a faraway town, or he really wants to work on that etiquette." She thought outloud.

"I guess… Maybe he's just avoiding you! Hahaha...ha… Y-You're not laughing." Wave's half-assed joke was met with a scornful glare from Esdese.

"There's nobody else he can love besides me. I made sure of that. And he hasn't complained, so he must be already falling for me."

"_I don't know if she thinks he loves her just because he hasn't ran away yet."_ Wave thought as he tried to look anywhere but Esdese. _"She has a very weird concept of love."_

"You made sure of what? That he doesn't love anybody else or that you killed…?" Wave asked, trying to save himself from that joke.

"Killed? Sadly no. Syura's pet is already taken care of. If Budou hadn't appeared, I would have killed her."

"Syura's pet? You mean… what's her name… Dorothea. Wait, that's why she's running around like Tutankhamun? You told me she had fight with Night Raid!"

"I said that, but I never said that was the reason of her condition. She's not a problem anymore. So Tatsumi only has me." Esdese looked at the red flask she was messing around with, and put it on the side table on her right.

"_But he seemed very close to Dorothea when she told us about the goo girl. That reminds me..."_

"What about that? You know that girlie… Seryu. Tatsumi knew her, didn't he? How did he react to… well, you know. All that Stylish did to her." Wave asked, pushed by curiosity.

"He didn't listen to me, so I assumed she wasn't that important."

"_He was too clingy to the idea of destroying it, but I don't think it was because he hated her. I think he just wants her to find peace."_ Wave concluded, nodding to himself.

There was a brief silence, in which Wave continued to avoid Esdese's glare. Whatever she was trying to prompt him, it wasn't working.

"I ordered you to be his friend so he could tell you thoughts he wouldn't tell me. And yet you haven't updated me ever since." The general said without any expression.

"Well, I was making some progress until you showed me that sword of his. You know, the sword with same markings as Grand Chariot? And when I asked you when you got it, you told me you hid it before he went into a mission outside the capital. Days before Stylish showed up dead." The former sailor said in concealed anger.

"And?" Esdese's passive answer only enraged Wave more.

"It's obvious isn't it?! You're the only one who denies it. Who would casually have Incursio besides Night Raid? And, and it's obvious why Tatsumi would have a reason to kill him! That mad doctor might not have been the best partner, but he was still part of the Jaegers."

"Quiet. Don't raise your voice to me." The commander of the Jaegers got up from the armchair, assuming her normal stoic attitude. "Your assumptions don't have any evidence. And I know Tatsumi isn't like that."

"But Incursio is-!" Esdese's underling tried to press on the issue, but he was quickly shot down again by the sudden drop of temperature of the room.

"Incursio is not under Night Raid control anymore, which only makes the Empire stronger. The only thing making it weaker is your lack of confidence. If you don't start to focus on more important issues, Tatsumi will surpass you and you should know better than anyone that I don't need two keys for the same door."

She sternly adjusted her cap and caught the red flask which lingered on the side table. She checked the room with finesse, before giving her underling one last glare.

"For now, focus on defending this place. And if somebody attacks, make sure to actually kill them."

With that, Esdese slammed the door behind her, leaving Wave in a catatonic state.

"_Shit… I knew the commander wouldn't listen, but to think that now I'm the bad guy because I don't trust someone shady! That's just stupid. She wants evidence? I'll expose that guy. But to do that alone… Kurome and Bols wouldn't be useful, but Ran… He's the voice of reason. I'm sure he'll help me out. We need to either make sure he's not an enemy, or that he stops breathing."_

Wave looked at his hands and then at his teigu and muttered to himself.

"Next time Night Raid attacks, I'll make sure they're actually dead."

* * *

**Outskirts of Kyoroch, several hours later…**

Night Raid had taken quite some time to reach Kyoroch, since they travelled through inconspicuous roads and trails of the Empire, but they were getting close. There was a main feeling of relief among the group, but overall it didn't seem like it would last for long.

Even though they had advantage over the Jaegers, morally they were way below average. It looked like the group lacked some innocence which would have done wonders, but sadly, nobody was like that.

"I'm tired... Chelsea, can't you transform into a horse or something?" Lubbock complained as he grabbed his chest for air.

"It gets tiring, you know? Aside from that, it's not like I'd let you ride me." Chelsea answered with smug smirk.

"Well, there's no problem if you want it to be the other way around!"

"And that's also something impossible." She said while quickly backing off.

Lubbock started to slow down his pace, as his lungs hadn't fully recovered from his fight from Seryu, and he had to make sure that Leone's head didn't fall off while she recovered. Her neck had completely broke from the kick of Grand Chariot, and she hadn't been able to move for weeks, even after starting the trip towards Kyoroch. However, she recovered a few days ago and she was back into action.

That's why, overall, he hadn't taken a break since then.

While he slowed down, the girl with pink hair behind him started to pick up her pace, trying to engage into a conversation with him.

"What does 'supercilious' mean?" Mein asked him while reading a strange book about a white knight.

"Hmm... I'm fairly sure it means disdainful."

"Ahh, got it!" She looked pretty immersed in it too.

He didn't know where she had taken that book, but it seemed she had listened to his advice to take her mind off the world. But maybe she was a bit too disconnected.

"What's poltroon?"

"The... what? When was that book written? I think it means coward…? Have you already lost my dictionary?" Failing to actually find an answer, he decided to have an actual conversation.

"I left it on the base. It smelt weird anyways." Mein said without taking her eyes off the book.

"Books smell like that!"

"I'm pretty sure they shouldn't emanate that rancid stink from three meters away." She covered her nose, while walking faster than Lubbock. "Besides, when I looked for the definition of 'stupidity', only a picture of you appeared."

She forced out a fake laugh before leaving Lubbock behind.

"All of you are against me these days. I need some male friends. That actually talk more than three lines. Looking at you, Su!" He muttered as he tried to speed up, reaching the main group.

Not even a few minutes after, they reached the outskirts of Kyoroch, their objective. They were supposed to reach the town by the first lights of the day, but due to Leone's injuries they hadn't been able to do so. The sunset was an eerie reminder that the future was still uncertain, especially with their hard hit morale.

"We failed to wear down the Jaegers, and now we will deal with the consequences. Besides our main target, Kurome and Bols still get priority over the other Jaegers. There's no room for failure. The Revolution will either be successful or will not be at all." Najenda said, looking over the orange bathed landscape.

"On the bright side, the Jaegers are unlikely to attack us. They'll be mostly trying to protect their target. So I've decided that until we're ready, you can have some free time to explore the city. After that, I will explain our plan of action, but I'll take any suggestion." Najenda finished, and quickly relaxed. This small moment of peace was everything they needed as a reward.

"This town will be witness of our most important battle. Everything will change here." Leone said while sitting down, bathing in the last rays of the sun.

Akame unknowingly nodded, deep in thought.

"_I'll finish it this time. A direct assault is unlikely… I'll lure you out and reap your life away, Kurome." She_ thought as she tightened the grip on Murasame.

"_I don't want to do this anymore… My body feels wrong... But I didn't enter Night Raid for selfish reasons. This time I won't hesitate. I won't miss any more shots." _Mein closed the book, and looked over her friends, trying to find some strength that wasn't appearing. _"I won't lose control, I'm sure of it."_

Chelsea, who had failed to retrieve Incursio, didn't seem to have ever lost any of her discreet optimism.

"_If it wasn't for those bandits I would have gotten Incursio. And now he's become too paranoid for me to approach him like last time, which means I won't be able to kill him without being sloppy. However, there's someone excellent to regain that teigu." _Chelsea smiled to herself as she glanced over at Mein, who seemed be awkwardly chanting to herself.

"_If Mein isn't in any condition to be in a mission, I'll have to make sure I do double the work for her. To think that I'd feel like a big brother…! It's all because of that girl. If that alchemist is here, I'll put an end to everything." _Lubbock adjusted his gloves, and cracked his fingers.

Both sides were eager to stamp out each other, but neither were aware of the true scope of the fighting. Because just as the Revolution wasn't an homogeneous group which followed their leaders, the Empire's army wasn't a machine where every gear spinned around itself.

* * *

**In the Capital…**

Syura walked down the corridors, avoiding every servant on the way. He had already spent enough time in the palace, and needed to go back out to 'play'.

"Do-ro-thea. We're wasting time here."

He kicked down the door to her dormitory, only to find it empty. To be fair, he hadn't checked on her in days, since she was so unhappy because of the torture.

"_She left, what a surprise." _He thought, not caring much about it.

The alchemist had tagged along with him to reach Stylish. With that done, there was nothing bounding her to him.

As he was about to left, a small note on top of the bed draw him closer to it. It didn't take him much to realize that the letter was made by Dorothea.

"_Hello, Syura. Thank you very much for letting me find Stylish. I gathered what I could, and now I can assure you I can make you that thing which I sought. Remember what I told you? The ultimate teigu to surpass them all… That's why I have only two words to say. Fuck you. _

_You fucking thought letting me with a sadistic bitch was a good move, you stupid shit for brains? When your father, the prime minister, fucked that pig and you were born, did you, perhaps, fall off a cliff? By ultimate teigu I meant infinite life and beauty, unlike the husk I have now. I never intended to help you. I never needed your help. _

_By the time you're reading this, I'll be far gone from the Capital. And if your brain is still as big as your dick, you've probably entered my bedroom. Don't you know it's difficult to perform alchemy without a catalyst? I hope you learn that I was the catalyst and you needed me, but I didn't need you. Go back with your little group and start jerking off, because I sure as hell won't ever see you again._

_Sincerely, someone who loathes you."_

Between the flames of rage and madness that overflow from Syura, he had a small moment of brightness.

The son of the prime minister looked at his feet and saw the black chalk the tip of his feet were touching. Without a second thought, he opened up a portal and jumped into.

He reappeared outside the Palace, when he saw a small explosion destroy part of the lower chambers of the building of the Emperor.

"That fucking bitch…" Syura gritted his teeth as he opened up a new portal. "If she thinks she can leave happily after that…"

With a strike in the heart of the Empire, the Four Rakshasa Demons wouldn't be able to assist Bolic, as the Prime Minister wanted. Syura knew that. And he knew who would be the replacement.

"The Hunt is on, Dorothea."

* * *

**Ah, Dorothea. Such a short life in the manga. You are the perfect _Chaotic Neutral _I needed for this story. Love you.**

**And you, reader, who should be very disappointed for my lack of updates... FEAR NOT! Because I'm back from my travels, with full force! We're going to end this shit!**

**Many important things happened on this chapter... The perfect thing for an arc oppener! I wonder, have you caught them all? I have been pretty rusty at writting, but I had most of it written. Specially that weird tickling part with Dorothea. I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote it. Came out pretty great. And embarrasing.**

**THANK YOU ALL! Even if you probably won't read this. Thank you all, I truly mean it.**


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